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Mastermind – To Live is to Suffer

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To Live is to Suffer

Overview

Now I hope this article doesn’t come across too morbid, but I felt like addressing this topic after I recently read through Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules of Life – An Antidote to Chaos. It proved itself a rather thought-provoking piece of literature, and while it gave me many things to ponder, he reminded me of a profound fact of life.

To Live is to Suffer

Certainly, it can be said that life, like a roller coaster, has its upward moments as well as its downward ones; however, from conception, the human body slowly progresses toward its demise. As the human body ages, it becomes more susceptible to illness and injury, and it takes longer to mend itself.

I have noticed since passing my mid-twenties, it has taken longer for me to recover from sporting injuries, for example. If the eventuality of life is filled with suffering, how does one best go about living?

Accept It

Once you agree to the premise that ‘life is filled with suffering’, as pessimistic of a viewpoint as it may seem, it is, in a sense, liberating. To an extent, it becomes plausible to explain away the misfortunes of life as a natural part of existence. Now I don’t mean going out of your way to get into trouble, but the naturally perceived bad things which happen to you. Instead of taking every bad thing that happens to you so personally, you can take a more detached stance and accept the reality of existence is filled with pain. Note that it is filled with joy and happiness too, but suffering is an existential eventuality that must be accepted to live in harmony with the natural way.

Overcome It

By which I mean to train yourself, both body and mind to transcend the whims of emotional pain. All human responses, bar reflexive ones can be honed in a specific direction to formulate established habits. Eventually, you can train your mind to respond in a radically different way to what others would perceive as a natural response. Instead of “why does this happen to me?” it could be “this is just a part of life that I have to deal with”.

I know which response I would rather develop within myself.

As the body declines, the mind can rise to overcome such limitations to an extent. Take a fighter, for example. Typically a fighter is in their prime at say 20-30 years give or take. After which the body undergoes degeneration as slowly but surely, everything becomes harder for the body. Yet there are many examples of fighters aged 40 and beyond who still look sharp and can do the business, even against younger and seemingly more agile opponents.

So what is going on here?

Mind over Matter

While the body declines over time, the same is not necessarily true of the mind. An old dog may not be able to perform any new tricks, but the ones he does know have been constantly refined through countless repetitions attained only with the passage of time and commitment.

The aged fighter has suffered more tragedy than the young guns. These experiences toughen an individual and better enable them to manage any inhabitations that their body is undergoing. In this manner, an older person can triumph even when the odds are stacked against them.

They accept their suffering and overcome it, using the power of the mind.

Conclusion

A well-lived life is one which has managed to mitigate the suffering of existentialism as much as possible. The best way to do that is to develop a truthful perspective that sees things as it is and to develop the body and mind to best cope with challenging situations.