Suffering...

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls, the most massive characters are seared with scars.

Every one in this world suffer.

If you have money you suffer, if you don't you suffer;
If you are talented you suffer, if you do not have talent you suffer;
If you have a job you suffer, if you don't have a job you suffer;
If you are married you suffer, if you are single you suffer.

Why do we suffer?

Why should comfort and convenience become suffering? We wanted it, so why should what we want become the source of suffering?

"People coming out of a restaurant have more joy and fulfilment on their faces than people coming out of a temple. What a shame that a dosa can do something more than the divine! " So says SADHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV

Here are five Baxter-inspired reasons that God graciously afflicts his saints.  

1. To prepare us to fully enjoy rest. 
2. To keep us from mistaking earth for heaven.
3. To draw us nearer to God.
4. To quicken our pace toward God.
5. To give us sweeter tastes of him.

Below are three compelling ideas. Some may resonate for you and others may seem forced or flat, but all present a way to see life's difficulties as mechanisms for growth.

The first idea may be stated as:
Overcoming Difficulties Elevates Us
The ancient Greek philosopher, Epicurus, stated:

The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.

The second approach to understanding life's difficulty may be stated as:
Difficulties Present the Necessity for Choices

Difficulties are necessary so that we can make choices. Through choosing between compassion or anger, action or resignation, or generosity or selfishness, we literally create ourselves. Without the possibility of adversity, these choices would not be needed and we would remain blank slates. It is through difficult choices, and the effort required to implement these choices, that we become agents for personal and societal growth, or apathy and decay.

The third approach to understanding life's difficulty may be stated as:
Difficulties Develop Confidence and Faith.

By remaining open to the possibility that we simply don't know, we learn to let go of our immediate response to classify and judge, and thereby develop faith -- which is the existential confidence in the goodness of ourselves and the world.

It is important to understand that these approaches are not intended to diminish the feelings of pain and loss that come from tragedies. Here, we are called to respond with compassion and a desire to help. Once we accept the truth that life's difficulties are the mechanism for growth, though, our resistance to the events that occur in our lives will begin to soften, and we can experience life with openness to new possibilities.

Suffering produces an insatiable desire to blame. No BSE please - Don't Blame Someone Else. (i.e. BSE)

Why are we so bent on finding fault? Partly because we hope to prevent future suffering, like avoiding spicy food because it once gave you heartburn. Partly because if the sufferer is to blame, we can accept the hardship as a legitimate recompense to sin: “She deserved that,” or “I had it coming.” If someone else is to blame, we at least have someone to take our anger out on.

But mostly, we hunt for a cause of suffering because the lack of one is too painful and too terrifying a reality. To think that hardship happens for no reason is too difficult to face.

Be Strong.

If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it.

This too will pass away.