Suffering
Posted by Gary Greenfield at 4/23/2011 2:19 PM 
Categories: Attitude
Tags: emotional intelligence fear healthy lifestyle
Categories: Attitude
Tags: emotional intelligence fear healthy lifestyle
Who could possibly really like it!!!! It's a horrible thing that leaves people shaking in their boots and totally immobilized to do anything really productive. The horror of it all can be almost incomprehensible!
Aah...but there's the problem. It can prematurely become so vivid in our mind that it becomes very comprehensible. I'm talking about our anticipation of some future event or circumstance that leaves us in a suffering state of mind or physical status. We are so certain that whatever is going to happen is going to be painful, consequently we suffer before the need to suffer is confirmed by current circumstances.
Suffering because we think we're going to suffer is insufferable. It's totally bogus and untimely. There will be plenty of time to suffer when you actually experience a hurtful situation. Suffering before hand only takes away from the quality of your life in the present. It takes away precious, irretrievable time that could be spent enjoying this moment.
Don't suffer prematurely. Suffer in those appropriate, current moments, only. It will make your life much less painful. Besides, the fear of suffering is usually much greater than the actual suffering itself. Enjoy now...suffer later!
Oh...and, thanks for suffering through this post.
Gary - great post! I used to do this to myself all the time, and have finally learned to wait and see what happens because (you're right!) it's usually nowhere near as bad as I imagined it would be. Also, a related topic is NOT doing something because you fear suffering later. When Bruce and I were thinking of getting married, many told me not to marry him because he is 16 years older than I and it would cause problems later because of the age difference. I'm glad I didn't listen because I would have missed out on 28 years of happiness just to avoid suffering later if/when I lose him... We never know what the future will hold - and if we don't do anything because of this, we'll never really live!
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