Suffering is part of life. We all suffer. We suffer physically and we suffer psychologically. Physical suffering is unfortunate oftentimes, and often some of us get more than our fair share. When one suffers, one is not just suffering alone; the whole of humanity and life shares in that suffering; it is the suffering of life. Sometimes, we automatically run from suffering in a robotic, conditioned, thoughtless way. If one is intelligent, one can allow physical suffering to flower naturally somewhat (without just being totally negative about it). Physical suffering is often a signal… and we need not be too overwhelmed with some of these signals (as long as we are doing everything we can to live a healthy and responsible life).
Additionally, there is psychological suffering. The mind can suffer with grief, with fear, with sorrow, with depression, loneliness, and boredom. Habitually manifesting as grief and sorrow can, for instance, take its toll on the body; it can cause high blood pressure, strokes, and all kinds of things. One’s sorrow, one’s fears, one’s grief… are all not separate from what one actually is. One can, without effort, psychologically die to grief, fear, to sorrow (and such things). And merely dwelling in (and “as”) thoughts is a form of sorrow. Thoughts are merely virtual, symbolic images, and existing merely as virtual, symbolic images is intrinsically a form of suffering. And thoughts (and psychological images in time) are usually the sources of fear and anxiety. One can psychologically die to the endless chattering of thoughts; such a dying is inherently a blessing. Look at things directly and not just through a psychological screen of learned images and labels. It is the images and labels that take effort to manifest, which is not the case with direct perception and pure seeing. But we make effort into an endless habit and then claim that we can’t exist without it. Effort takes time; wise (pristine) perception is timeless. Compassion is instantaneous (and has an element of timelessness), by the way.
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
wow what a stunning photograph and yes suffering is endemic to Life – staying with it until it passes is what is important – eventual release is part of the process.
Yes, Sara, suffering is endemic to Life. Too many people take pills, robotically trying to suppress it. If it becomes too intense, that is another story, and (of course) measures must be taken.
Thank you about the photograph. 😊
Yes, but suffering is the spur to growth. No point changing anything if things are just fine. It’s when I am suffering that I face a choice to allow me to do things better.
Bob, man has suffered for millions of years and it hasn’t done much whatsoever to turn us into a very spiritual species. And choice is unnecessary for a mind of real clarity and deep perception (where choice really is, for most all, a continuation of superficial conditioning).
Do you think psychological suffering is more fixable than physical suffering Tom? I knew a woman who lost her spouse of almost 60 years and lost the will to go on, though she was not physically ill when he passed away. Within a few week’s time she had dementia, did not recognize my mom/me (her neighbors) and walked around the yard aimlessly, calling across the street when she saw me to ask what day it was. Soon she forgot to eat or turned the stove on with nothing on the burner and her four children whisked her into an assisted living facility, where she died a few months later … of heartbreak, no physical ailments. Hmm – fossilized dinosaur dung looks like a Jackson Pollock painting.
One is so sorry that that woman deteriorated mentally as she did. That was truly tragic. Even some macaws, when they lose their lifelong partners, end up plucking their feathers out and engaging in self-mutilating behavior. I lost my lifelong partner, and had to learn to smile in life anyway (while being happy). It can be done when one is compassionate and caring toward the organic organism that one is. Giving up and succumbing to grief can end in disaster and malignant physical and psychological decline.
A “Jackson Pollock painting”… that is funny (and rather true)!😊
Tom, my mom and I were so sad to watch her deteriorate so quickly. She just fell apart emotionally and aged before our very eyes. I remember Marla as you mentioned her in your posts.
Jackson Pollock may not find it so funny though! 🙂
Sorry to read about your mom, Linda. Yes, my wife Marla had a whole lot of serious health issues later in her life.
Actually, i find the coprolite to be more beautiful than Pollock’s paintings, and the fossil has better real 3D qualities. 😉
What a pretty piece of sh… coprolite! 🙂