Life Inc.: Suffering

On my way to work this morning, I had a strange but non-unique thought. Given the choice, would most people choose to live, i.e. be born and go through the whole life sha-bang? For most people, perhaps as many as 80% of people it seems, when looked at from a superficial standpoint, I think the answer is no. That's a rather depressing thought and statement - don't you think?

Most of the reasoning stems from the purpose behind our lives and the juxtaposition of suffering in the world that comes with it. When I think of the billlions of people who toil day and night (and in between) to simply make ends meet, the unquantifiable amount of poverty, disease, hunger, injustice... around the world, I start to wonder what really is the purpose of all this. And, then, on the opposite spectrum, we have private islands, pristine private beaches, personal attendants, private jets... you get the picture. It really sucks to suffer.

So, why bother with the whole life thing (if given a choice at the beginning)? What's the purpose of living anyway, and more importantly of suffering through all of it? It doesn't make the sufferer happy, it doesn't make those watching the suffering happy, it doesn't create any value - or does it? Are you actually doing a disservice by having kids? After all, they are prone to the same suffering existent today, aren't they?

It is impossible to answer why suffering exists to fully please every person with the question. Your guesses are as good as mine. Why did God create suffering? It's an extremely hard question, if not an impossible one, to answer. However, I think we can look at the meaning of love in order to find some solace and the beginnings of an answer.

When our hearts ache and our minds are numbed by all the suffering around us, we are melted and brought to our knees in an effort to love the victim of this suffering. For instance, when we see a family go through unimaginable trials e.g. a gruesome death of a loved child, we - almost instinctively - react with compassion. Whether we act on that instinct and do something about it is a different story altogether. But, for a split second, I think it is fair to say that there is an outpouring of love to those in need of it - at the very least in spirit. This love that emanates from us is a natural instinct that fills a void and a vacuum that lacks it or has just lost it. In this example, the family has lost a source (and receiver) of love.

It is probably fair to say that seeing others suffer brings out the sympathy, kindness, compassion, charity, and unselfishness that lies in the deep abyss of each one of us. In essence, all these 'feelings' are a derivative of love. Every one of us, regardless of talent, intelligence, race, religion, gender, family background, hair color, political leaning, wealth, title or health, has the ability and inclination to react to suffering in the ways described above, in some form or another. Furthermore, this 'love' is one for which we constantly thirst to give and to receive. To give a few examples: we want to have "meaningful careers", "create change in the world", "help others", "have a happy family", etc. In the case of watching suffering, we want to give love to others; when we suffer, we seek love from others.

Love, then, is a primary element that makes us human, as opposed to simply an object of existence or a "living thing." Suffering is the lack of love, internal or external. It exists to bring about the love that is intrinsic in each one of us and exists within us. Whether we exercise it or not is a matter of choice. It unifies people beyond any boundary imaginable - racial, religious, cultural, political, hobby-based, any one. Everyone of us no matter who we are or how cruel we are - today, in the past, or in the future - has the capacity to love and to receive love.

God is love. His first two commandments are: love Him, and love others. In order to appreciate Him and His love for us, suffering must exist. Without it, we are unable to love, or to receive love. And, as a result, we are unable to know God.