Pain will come, but suffering is optional. I heard that in the context of endurance athlete mindset work; however, I find that it’s very applicable given the state of the world.
Pain, the physical response to something that says “ouch!” – that is understood to be a byproduct of many things, from fitness to tattoos, or breaking a bone. That pain is a part of the process, and while it’s not fun or enjoyable, it is cognitively understood as to why it exists. It is a way to protect us, to indicate that something is wrong or to warn us that we are nearing a state of worsening circumstance; however, suffering is not a necessary or required part.
Suffering and reliving the hurt, the anguish or turmoil, those are all things that happen in the mind. That suffering is almost always inflicted upon us by our own psyche and inner dialogue. Suffering comes from a deep place of wishing to remain locked into the hurt. The pain will almost always have ended long before the suffering, and punishing oneself really doesn’t do anything to propel the situation (or person) toward a better state.
I am not immune to the hardship of others, who truly suffer in their lives or way of life, and for them I am always conscious of their inability to escape, but we must look at our lives through the lens of reality. Whatever our reality is, many of the people I know, or those who have means and time to read a blog really are not suffering to that degree, or in that manner. We must look at those who truly suffer, and curb our selfish desires to simply prolong our sadness and call it suffering, in an attempt to feel, feel vindicated, or to hurt another.
