DEALING WITH SUFFERING<\/p>\n
There are several ways to deal with suffering: keep it to yourself, escape from it,\u00a0pass it on to someone else, end it in yourself, or transform it into something helpful.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at each in turn, illustrated with case studies.<\/p>\n
KEEP\u00a0IT\u00a0TO\u00a0YOURSELF.\u00a0A\u00a0popular\u00a0(yet\u00a0far\u00a0from\u00a0ideal)\u00a0strategy\u00a0is\u00a0to\u00a0keep\u00a0your\u00a0suffering\u00a0to yourself \u2013 to \u201csuffer in silence.\u201d You may have been taught this is somehow\u00a0noble, but it\u2019s actually needless.<\/p>\n
It deprives you, unnecessarily, of enjoyment and\u00a0fulfillment. Or perhaps you believe that your suffering is a necessary preparation\u00a0for your happiness in the next world. Or perhaps you harbor false beliefs about\u00a0yourself, implanted by others, which prevent your authentic person from flourishing.<\/p>\n
Beliefs are not determined by our genes; they are acquired by cultural\u00a0transmission. A belief that causes you sorrow can be replaced by a belief that\u00a0causes you joy, but it\u2019s up to you to make the change. Alternative beliefs of all\u00a0kinds are available to you; the world is teeming with them. But it\u2019s up to you to\u00a0find beliefs that are helpful to you, rather than harmful. And while suffering can be\u00a0a kind of education itself at times (like anything else in life), once you\u2019ve learned\u00a0its lessons you\u2019re allowed to graduate \u2013 and you deserve to.<\/p>\n
The moral: Keeping suffering to yourself, however nobly, is not the answer.\u00a0Rooting out its causes, no matter how long that takes, is the best approach.<\/p>\n
ESCAPE\u00a0FROM\u00a0IT.\u00a0This\u00a0sounds\u00a0tempting,\u00a0and\u00a0also\u00a0has\u00a0a\u00a0heroic\u00a0ring\u00a0to\u00a0it.\u00a0It\u00a0is\u00a0not\u00a0a\u00a0coincidence that the theme of escape is perennially popular in\u00a0Hollywood. Audi-\u00a0ences love escape movies, presumably because so many people identify with\u00a0them.<\/p>\n
The kind of suffering that we\u2019re talking\u00a0about, however, is not produced by the pain of physical captivity in drastic surroundings but rather by ordinary situations in life, from which people unwittingly,\u00a0unconsciously, or unerringly fashion their own prisons and then seek to escape.<\/p>\n
Those who are responsible for their own sufferings cannot escape them except by\u00a0confronting them, understanding their true causes, and removing them. Attempts\u00a0to escape from self-induced suffering not only fail, but often worsen the suffering\u00a0itself.<\/p>\n
Fight or flight is one of the oldest biological instincts in humans, and since\u00a0suffering is a kind of threat to one\u2019s well-being, there is a natural inclination to\u00a0fight or flee this threat.<\/p>\n
But when the suffering is self-induced, we cannot fight it except by confronting\u00a0it, and we cannot flee it at all. If you were suffering and someone offered you a free\u00a0trip anywhere in the world, or the galaxy for that matter, would you take it? You\u00a0might do so for distraction, or temporary escape, but you know full well that your\u00a0suffering would accompany you wherever you went, as surely as your shadow.<\/p>\n
Yet\u00a0people will naturally attempt to escape \u2013 through alcohol, drugs, relationships,\u00a0cults \u2013 whatever medium seems to take them away from themselves, to put time\u00a0or space or altered states of consciousness between them and their suffering.<\/p>\n
Yet\u00a0escape is only temporary.<\/p>\n
People who wish not to suffer must find a way to face\u00a0and overcome their suffering.<\/p>\n
SPREAD\u00a0IT\u00a0AROUND.\u00a0Another\u00a0very\u00a0common\u00a0strategy\u00a0is\u00a0to\u00a0try\u00a0to\u00a0pass\u00a0your\u00a0suffering\u00a0on to someone else. In the short run, this looks like the human equivalent of the\u00a0barnyard pecking order:<\/p>\n
Your boss yells at you; you yell at your kid; your kid kicks\u00a0the dog.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, suffering is not like a football: You can\u2019t just hand it off to\u00a0someone else and thereby disown it. If you try, you\u2019ll find it has a multiplier effect.\u00a0That is, you can\u2019t get rid of suffering it by spreading it around. That just increases\u00a0its presence in the world. People who seek out others just to implicate them in\u00a0their suffering are actually suffering twice over: first from whatever\u2019s really bothering them at source, and second from the delusion that implicating others will\u00a0alleviate their own problems.<\/p>\n
END\u00a0IT\u00a0IN\u00a0YOURSELF.\u00a0If\u00a0you\u00a0are\u00a0suffering\u00a0from\u00a0a\u00a0disease,\u00a0this\u00a0disease\u00a0is\u00a0in\u00a0your\u00a0body,\u00a0and must be extinguished there.<\/p>\n
Why should disease be any different?<\/p>\n
But it\u00a0seems to be much more difficult for people to \u201cown\u201d their disease because they\u00a0have to accept responsibility for their mental contents in order to end it in themselves.<\/p>\n
It is much easier, at least in the short run, to blame others: \u201cHe\u2019s making\u00a0me unhappy,\u201d or \u201cShe\u2019s not appreciating me,\u201d or \u201cSociety is treating me unfairly.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s much harder to admit that some of your beliefs or expectations are working\u00a0against your better interests, and harder still to puzzle out what to do about it.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0the long run, however, the only way to end your suffering is to disown it. But in\u00a0order to do that, you have to admit to owning it in the first place.<\/p>\n
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The Big Questions: How Philosophy Can Change Your Life<\/strong><\/em> DEALING WITH SUFFERING There are several ways to deal with suffering: keep it to yourself, escape from it,\u00a0pass it on to someone else, end it in yourself, or transform it into something helpful. Let\u2019s look at each in turn, illustrated with case studies. KEEP\u00a0IT\u00a0TO\u00a0YOURSELF.\u00a0A\u00a0popular\u00a0(yet\u00a0far\u00a0from\u00a0ideal)\u00a0strategy\u00a0is\u00a0to\u00a0keep\u00a0your\u00a0suffering\u00a0to yourself…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg",900,609,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg",900,609,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?fit=300%2C203&ssl=1",300,203,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"portfolio-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=570%2C570&ssl=1",570,570,true],"portfolio-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=600%2C609&ssl=1",600,609,true],"portfolio-landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1",800,600,true],"menu-featured-post":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=345%2C198&ssl=1",345,198,true],"qode-carousel_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=400%2C260&ssl=1",400,260,true],"portfolio_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=500%2C380&ssl=1",500,380,true],"portfolio_masonry_regular":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1",500,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_wide":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=900%2C500&ssl=1",900,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_tall":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=500%2C609&ssl=1",500,609,true],"portfolio_masonry_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"portfolio_masonry_with_space":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?fit=700%2C474&ssl=1",700,474,true],"latest_post_boxes":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=539%2C303&ssl=1",539,303,true],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?fit=600%2C406&ssl=1",600,406,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/post-1481.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1",100,100,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Philosophy<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"DEALING WITH SUFFERING There are several ways to deal with suffering: keep it to yourself, escape from it,\u00a0pass it on to someone else, end it in yourself, or transform it into something helpful. Let\u2019s look at each in turn, illustrated with case studies. 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\nLou Marinoff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"