Suffering
We all suffer at some point or another, we all cope with it to some degree. Sometimes we cope with suffering through pleasure, sometimes we cope with suffering through purpose. One way is a temporary solution, one way is a prolonged solution. If you dive into one of these substantially more than the other you will struggle, you will suffer. Life’s fundamental sustainability comes in balance, in homeostasis . So when it comes to suffering, to struggle, to pain… you must find a balance between pleasure and purpose, by doing this you can learn to live with, and cope with the worst parts of your mind. It is no easy task, if it were easy life would be rather dull. So we have this life, where we start looking to the future too much, or looking back at the past, and we lose sight of the present, lose sight of us. In this process we tend to suffer. As cliche as it sounds, living in the now is a great coping skill. Working with what you can do right now, what you can control… rather than obsessing with all the things that are out of your control. A knee jerk reaction is to say “let’s just remove the pain, remove the suffering” and that sounds wonderful at first glance. However, a life without pain, a life without struggle, is a life without growth. So like the sun is essential for growth, but to much can damage life… The same goes with suffering, with pain, with the daily struggles of life. Some of the suffering and pain is fundamental for growth, but to much can kill you, stunt your growth. A lot of people spend their days suffering and then drown themselves in substances on the weekends or at the end of day. This only perpetuates the madness. Some people dive into their work for a prolonged periods of time and the purpose begins to grow dull, tends to lose its luster and they begin to suffer. If you can find a median between your pleasures and your purpose you can transcend and learn to live with your suffering. You also must understand that what someone else can use for pleasure, you may not be able to. Just like someone else’s purpose may not be yours. These are things you must discover for yourself, on your own. Having people support you along the way is helpful, trying to do things on your own can become very difficult. Some of our worst pleasures are the toxic people in our lives, and yes I mean pleasures. We are kinda messed up people, it makes us special… we find pleasure in the worst things and the best things. The difficulty is learning what is healthy and unhealthy. It can be a daunting thing failing through this process, but you can come out successful. You just have to keep moving, to victory or defeat, you must move. If you can find a great support group, healthy pleasures and a meaningful purpose… your self discovery is in your grasp, your transcendence of suffering is much closer than you can imagine in your worst moments.
