The Art of Suffering

There’s value in suffering. Are you nuts?? Suffering an art? There is no value in suffering itself. Its what we do with it that separates rain from snow.

MS doles out plenty of set backs, but there can be value in them if we so desire.

First off suffering is a human condition and we’re not going to get out unscathed no matter what. And more often than not, suffering gets blamed on God for four common misconceptions: His way of punishing us for sin; He’s testing us; He’s purifying us; and it is His will and we must accept it. All of which are misguided theologies. Pile on anger, guilt, and sorrow, then let fear rush in to seal the deal and suffering is sure to crumple us under its weight. So how is there value in that? First off, God loves us beyond human measure and does not condone those precepts at all.

For religious people, I wanted a relationship with God, and the trinity, and that enabled me to join my trials to Christs suffering knowing deeply that I’m not alone, that he too suffered great pain & loss yet He triumphed over them. He walks right beside me through it all and that comforts me.

For the non-religious, I believe we can still offer up our sufferings to the heavens by coupling it with others we may know. We all know someone or something that we would gladly step in to help alleviate their pain. A sick infant, the newly bereaved, a devastating accident. Holding another’s pain in our heart together with our own suffering seems to somehow make our load a little more bearable. It opens new vistas. Its unexplainable, like most sacred mysteries.

Shared suffering helps me see beyond my own pain to others and is, in a way learning to embrace it, even if just a little. But the the cost of embracing suffering is high. Having to give up complaining in favour of thanking our plight is not for the faint of heart. Suffering can push me to reflect on the nature of who I am, how I relate to others and what I most value. It can wake up pockets of resilience I never knew existed. It can become an opportunity of growth, to shape me into something new.

I recently saw a documentary on twelve men setting out on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, a 500 mile walk to a basilica in Spain. They willingly set out to endure hardship, pain, and suffering, only to find a Presence, peace and joy; they found things in themselves that surprised even them; a clarity came that far outweighed any set of afflictions they endured. And there must be something to it, because some 500,000 plus pilgrims took the same trek last year.

So don’t waste your suffering. Don’t let it keep you in bondage. Embrace it and allow it to take you where it may. 

Because who knows, you might be surprised by joy.