I want to share with you an idea I’ve in my recent studies of life and suffering…
Your suffering is the pathway to your purpose.
I know this may sound strange, but hear me out. We all experience suffering - this is unavoidable, inevitable and true. It looks different for all of us, as we each have our own set of morals, values and outlooks. Regardless of what it looks like, the promise of life is that it will always be.
So often we see this as a “bad” thing. We run away from our suffering. We amputate our worldviews to block it out as much as possible, and we pretend that we’re okay. I don’t think this is the best approach - I believe that it is by facing our suffering that we actually find the path we are meant to be on.
It makes sense if you think about it - by overcoming our pain, by slaying our demons, we become masters of our specific type of suffering. We become “qualified,” so to speak. Is there any endeavor more noble than teaching others how to do the same? Is there any altruism more powerful than helping others avoid the pitfalls of the suffering we once fell into? I think not. It is precisely through our pain that we are blessed with the capacity for our own unique kind of service.
We will all experience loss in this life. We will all face the abyss. We will all encounter people and situations that make us question everything. Life will put us all on our knees, and we must open ourselves to it. We must accept it willingly. If we do this, we become invincible.
Let me be clear - invincible does not mean immortal. None of us will live for ever, and the only promise in life is death. But each and every one of us has access to the invincible spirit of humanity, that indomitable force shared by the greatest of history. This is the spirit of the fighters, the warriors, the mystics and the martyrs. This is the spirit of the untamable. This week, I encourage you to summon this spirit within you. Face your suffering with your chest out and your chin up.
Do this, and all else will be revealed.