I love to run. I have never been the fastest or the strongest but I have always had the ability to endure. I love to log long lonely miles. I would consider myself an average runner. But I would say I have an above average ability to suffer. I am willing to run for hours and endure the burning legs and aching feet. The thought of suffering though a run draws me. If I am driving down a long lonely road and see a trail branch off into the woods, there is a pulling sensation urging me to stop the car and take off on the trail. To be lost in thought as a pound away the miles allows me to search my mind and test my heart. How could I ask for a more pure experience. I know this concept seems foreign to most people. Perhaps normal beings would desire a nice hammock in the shade of a tall bending tree, or a flat stretch of empty beach. And I agree those sound nice. However, put me in those locations and my first thought is I want to run on the beach barefoot until the heaven meets the earth.
The idea of suffering doesn't sound appealing on a purely rational level. To suffer is defined as experiencing something bad or unpleasant. But I guess the idea of suffering all depends on how you view the experience. Your perception of the experience of something that may be unpleasant at that moment will make all the difference. What is the end outcome? Your perspective will establish your response. I know that if I can master my thoughts in the suffering, I can become stronger.
I practice as a pain management specialist. So all day long I deal with people who are in chronic pain. I have a mantra that I explain to my patients. I say "pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional". In other words, we are all going to face experiences that we would consider as unpleasant. The difference occurs in how we decide to view the pain. Will we control it or will we let it control us. In his biblical letter, James tells us to "consider it joy WHEN we encounter various trials". Don't miss the point, it is WHEN and not IF you experience trials. But even when we face an unpleasant experience it is up to us as to how we view it and what we do with it. James tells us that we can use the trial to produce endurance.
I fully understand this concept. When I train for marathons I intentionally put myself through longer and more difficult tests of endurance. I search for hills to climb. I push to faster paces to create strain. All for the purpose of competing at a higher level. I seek out this form of suffering because I know I will be better able to deal with the real race day. How we look at suffering will make all the difference. Do we dread it, run from it, ruin our lives thinking about it? Or do we embrace it and find out what we can learn from it?
The concept of suffering is intriguing because at some point in our lives we all will suffer in some way. It may be physical suffering caused by an illness. It may be emotional suffering caused by the loss of a loved one or psychological suffering brought on by depression. But suffering will occur. There are times like on long runs when suffering is welcome to me. That form of suffering tells me I'm doing something that most people won't do. Suffering reveals weakness that can then be transformed to strength. With every aching muscle I know I will rebuild and I will be stronger and I will be faster. Suffering through emotional trials or psychological trials can also produce personal growth and strength if we are able to learn from them. If we can transform the way we think. And remold the way we view trials then we will be stronger and will be more fit to deal with trials of all kinds. However, if we allow suffering to build a stronghold in our life and allow it to be the ruler of our lives, it can be a great destructive force.
If we let suffering just simply be suffering for no good reason and we don't ever learn from it or don't use it to fashion us and form us to be stronger, then suffering is just simply suffering and will tear us down to our foundation. So for me it all comes down to how we view suffering and what we plan to do with suffering. Our response makes the difference. I will not fear suffering because I know that through suffering I can change! I can be stronger! I can be more powerful! Now don't get me wrong, I would much rather never have to face suffering of a physical illness or an emotional illness. But I know from the time I have spent running and learning to deal with that type of suffering that I have the ability to use it to build! I know that when trials come I can learn through the suffering and I can become stronger! Pain is inevitable and it is present in my practice every day. We live with pain but if we let it stop us, it controls us and it destroys us. But if we learn how to modify it, if we learn how to take it captive instead of allowing it to take us captive then we become stronger and we live the abundant life we were meant to live.
The next few days on the moeo blog I want to discuss suffering. I want to look at what suffering means and how it affects us. I would love to hear comments from people who read the blog, ideas that you have, things that you have done in dealing with suffering. I welcome this dialogue. Contact me via email at moeoeverywherewego@gmail.com and share your thoughts.
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