Submitted by Fred on

Suffering

Categories
Lifestyle

Times sportswriter Harvey Araton wrote last week that "Suffering is good. It reinforces character, resolve and commitment. Experienced in public it exposes vulnerability. Handled with class, it heightens likability."

Talk about imparting the Secrets of the Universe!  This is a one stop shop verity which resonates very strongly with me.

After growing up in the carefree, "Happy Days" 1950s I took things for granted and as a consequence experienced a devastating failure in my early adulthood which changed my life and transformed me.

And you?


Comments

Corey Bearak

I talk not of transformation but of roads, paths, avenues we take.

The only thing I often point to as "transformative) happened when I saw the movie, "The Avenger" (a sequel to "The Trojan Horse) -- view on youtube @: http://tiny.cc/rc13hx -- which was paired at the time with "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" at the old Glen Oaks Movie Theater (now a chain drug store). Earlier that Sunday I read a few Greek and Roman myths, including the story of the Trojan Aeneas (See a previous blog by today's blogger, which I am not sure is available since it was first posted on the old site)

Submitted by NULL (not verified) on Thu, 06/26/2014 - 22:58

Permalink

I second Don's request. DJA
Ester Horowitz

My transformative story occurred at the tender age of 27. I don't think there is anyone that escapes life changing events It what you do with that is the difference between success and continued suffering.

Submitted by Judy_Mauer on Thu, 06/26/2014 - 23:46

Permalink
Judy Mauer

the question:
are failure and suffering the same thing?
Nancy Schess

Judy raises an interesting question. Are failure and suffering the same thing? I don't think so but I do think that failure can cause suffering at least in the first instance. But then per Fred's currently secret failure, it can also lead to transformation.
Benjamin Geizhals

Suffering and failure are definitely not the same thing. One can suffer without failing and fail without suffering.

Submitted by NULL (not verified) on Fri, 06/27/2014 - 03:57

Permalink

Suffering ? Woody Allen said:" To Love is to Suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore to love is to suffer. Not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then...Is to suffer but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore to be happy one must love or love to suffer from too much happiness. "
What the hell could have been so terrible in your young adulthood to make you suffer? You had your health. A beautiful wife. A Juris Doctorate. A home on Rugby Road. Could you go outside and smell the roses and talk to the birds? Did the sun shine on you? Were you able to put things in perspective as a young adult? Or was this suffering something really worth calling suffering. Like kids starving...dogs being abused...etc. What the hell happened back then Fred? What is your definition of suffering ? Did you lose your baseball glove ?

Hollander Sends

Submitted by Lucas_Meyer on Fri, 06/27/2014 - 04:56

Permalink
Lucas Meyer

My late father-in-law always said (with a German accent), "I suffer in silence."
Rona Gura

To add onto Judy's question, does losing necessarily equate to failure and/or suffering?

Submitted by Erik_Scheibe on Fri, 06/27/2014 - 14:26

Permalink
Erik Scheibe

Have I mentioned that I think it's a shame we can't access the blogs from the old web site?

My greatest life changing event took place when I was 18 and left home for college. I made a conscious decision to change who I was.

Judy/Nancy/Ben: interesting...and peculiar, one a verb, one an adjective...thought-provoking

I have endured much suffering in my life, none of it a result of those I love...but then why would anyone listen to Woody Allen anyway.

Suffering is much easier to speak about after it's been endured, similar to failure after it's been overcome. Speaking about it while it's happening...hmmmmm.

Lucas: Perhaps that's our greatest failure

Rona: Losing is never failure...however it is always suffering...as it should be



Rita: I'm not so sure

Add new comment

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.