Why do we suffer in this life? Is life full of suffering?

We suffer in this life because we have many unending Desires, which may never be fulfilled. We suffer because we keep a lot more expectations from our loved ones. We suffer because we get over-attached to some other person or thing and for that, we need to learn to live with detached attachment.

We suffer in life because we are unable to fulfill our goals which we had “Bragged about” in public. This is because the disapproval of society gives us a very good reason to suffer extremely well. Ring a bell?

Suffering is an inevitable part of life. Suffering accompanies us from our birth till our death.

Our life, defined in 5 words is, Birth>> Growth >>Diseases>> Suffering and Death.

To live is to suffer and to Survive is to find some meaning in the Suffering –Friedrich.N

Most people only care about physical suffering and that is why they need pleasure all the time in their life. The people who are empty inside, can’t live without small, regular pleasures. So, therefore the pleasure factor becomes of the utmost importance in their life.

Now, you must be wondering what exactly is physical suffering ?

Physical suffering includes pain, aging, deterioration of the body, and injury of any kind. But there is one more suffering and people care the least about it.

Multi-tasking mixed with distraction is a new age of intense suffering.

This is the emotional suffering, which is the suffering caused by:-

>> Sadness,

>> Betrayal,

>> Loneliness,

>> Feeling of Emptiness and

>> The aggressive feeling of rage.

All these feelings cause tremendous suffering.

Suffering gives us pain, but you should remember that the pain will eventually subside and excellence will take its place one day.

Very often growth requires difficulty, hardships and challenges and that is the time when people have difficulty accepting the will of the universe.

You may find asking yourself silly questions like:

>> Why did this happen to me?

>> Why do difficulties always come my way?

And in those times, worldly pleasure is the only escape from all that suffering. These kinds of people who seek pleasure all the time are partially alive.

To be partially alive is a sickness that has a very difficult cure and it happens to be that most of the world is suffering from this deadly sickness.

Pleasure becomes Paramount when you are half alive, without it you cannot exist.

 Sometimes the only way around suffering is to go straight through it.

Being half alive is torture and a very large segment of society is living through this torture. Therefore, being partially alive is another big reason for the suffering.

Their physicality and mentality are the one part that is alive and the rest of it is dead. Half-alive people will suffer everything, such as:-

>> They will suffer ignorance and

>> They will suffer education,

>> They will suffer poverty and

>> They will suffer affluence (having loads of money and wealth),

>> They will suffer being alone and

>> They will suffer being in a relationship.

>> If they are married, they will suffer and

>> If they are not married, they will again suffer,

>> If they don’t have children, they suffer tremendously and

>> If they do have children again, they will suffer the sweet chaos at home.

Always confused, Depressed, and chaotic.

Such people are addicted to suffering, they can’t live without suffering, and they have learned to live with suffering.

Such people find new ways to make their life miserable. For example, they will distract themselves with the multi-tasking and social media so much, that they will have sleepless nights.

They feel happy because then, their time is fully occupied. They seek their purpose, being busy dealing with this suffering.

People are even suffering death, before it happens. Pleasure becomes a very important part of your life when you are half alive, and without it, you cannot exist.

Human life is a community project.

 Does suffering have a purpose?

Always remember, that God is blessing you, Every time he is breaking you.

Our suffering motivates us to change our behavior, when possible, in ways that enhance our chances of survival

Suffering has the power to destroy our self-reliance.  We, humans, were not created to be self-reliant.

Self-reliance makes us more vulnerable to suffering.

Therefore, humans were created to be dependent on the almighty God and also to be mutually dependent on each other.

As the proverb says that “A human being is a social animal”

So we are not meant to live alone and that is why we can’t live in complete isolation.

Sometimes it takes Suffering to pierce the soul and Open it up to Greatness– J. Murray

The suffering makes us cry out loud and seek help from some higher power. Therefore, suffering exposes the fact that we are not self-sufficient.

Therefore, We need mutual support from one another to live a life peacefully. It is the pain of our suffering that makes us aware of our real weaknesses prevailing inside of us. Weaknesses like the feelings of:-

>> Rage,

>> Anger,

>> Depression,

>> Obsession,

>> Lust etc.

The pain and suffering are the soil of strength and courage—L. Mcdaniel

Suffering is a Universal experience. The pain and the problems vary from person to person, but we all suffer anyways.

But the question again comes :-

Why do we suffer? And how should we react to the suffering when it arrives?

Suffering is present in our life because we are living in a broken world and some suffering is due to the sinful and wrong choices we have made in our life.

Most of the time suffering is God’s plan to prepare us for the future. To make us eligible and strong enough, to face the upcoming fury of life.

Wise men say that suffering makes us stronger, but if you have a weak mindset then you will say, that after suffering so much I don’t want to live any longer.

Suffering is your own perception that is clashing with reality– Sven. S

Therefore, suffering is inevitable and it will appear in our life every now and then. But it is our stubborn attitude and our will to survive that carve up a purpose in every suffering.

There is no victory without Suffering through circumstances.

What is the root cause of suffering?

The root cause of all suffering is our ego. Ego gives us a sense of ignorance and greed, and when both of them are fulfilled, our hunger and greed increase for more.

Moreover, this greed leaves us dissatisfied and wanting more and more. In the end, we find ourselves stuck in a never-ending loop of unhappiness, uneasiness and a lot more suffering

Every trial of suffering is an opportunity to grow in the ocean of Faith

The causes of suffering are:

>> Ego,

>> Ignorance,

>> The Attachment, and

>> Our Desires.

The root of suffering is attachment. ~ Buddha

Suffering is the outcome of our ego and Desires. It is good to have desires and goals, but the fun fact is they both should be in a limited quantity.

If our desires are limited, we can live a passionate and satisfied life. But those unlimited desires may not get fulfilled in our entire life, and so it will leave us with a sad feeling of failure.

If somehow how we have made our desires public, or if in the past, we had obsessed over any desire day and night, only to find out that it will never get fulfilled in this life. Then, it may leave us feeling depressed and worthless.

Is suffering a normal part of life?

Suffering can be the doorway to your personal evolution.

Yes, suffering is a normal part of our life because when we suffer it exposes the bad things that still live inside us.

When we suffer, we are in pain and our pain makes us feel:

>> Irritable,

>> Envious,

>> Demanding,

>> Impatient,

>> Doubtful and

>> Angry.

Our pain gives us a feeling of rage and uneasiness.

Suffering has the power to expose our self-righteousness.

Our suffering does not make us feel this way, but it draws out what was already hiding inside of us.

The suffering demonstrates that there is still some sin inside us and that we desperately need support from a higher power.

The suffering makes us aware that to live our everyday life we need something more than our pleasures. Something more important than the relief from situational, physical, relational, or cultural hardships.

That is why, suffering makes us aware and realize that we need a spiritual awakening and there is a lot more to life than all the worldly pleasures.

What’s the point of living if it’s an endless cycle of suffering?

Suffering has its own way of making us aware that what’s really dear to us. Suffering tells us what we can’t live without, and what is the thing, that truly rules our hearts and lives.

Suffering gives us the strength to tread through life.

In life sometimes we lose something that was giving us value and worth. We lose some things that were giving us tremendous happiness and joy in life. And when we lose them, we feel the pain and suffering in our life. That suffering makes us realize that those worldly pleasures were meaningless and temporary. Therefore, suffering has its own way of teaching us what is real in life.

Suffering has the power to lay waste to our idols

God leaves us in this broken world because what it produces in us is way better than the comfortable life we all want.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Question: How do you continue to learn and evolve?

Answer: Accepting that everything that exists in this universe is only temporary, allows you to release your attachment to most of the things, people around you and even get detached with your own identity. And this is the process, of how you continue to learn and evolve.

Question: What does God say about suffering?

It is said that suffering is the result of human sin against God. God gives us suffering in our lives as a result of the sinful and wrong choices we have made.

Question: Is suffering God’s fault?

In Bible, it is said that suffering is not God’s fault suffering happens to us because God allows us to suffer due to our sinful deeds and thus blesses us to experience the joy and fulfillment that comes afterward.