life is not always rainbows and butterflies. sometimes, bad things happen. sometimes, we get hurt. after which, we go through a commensurate time of suffering. at that time, we think that life is unfair because in our mind's eye, we have been unduly wronged. so instead of letting that experience of suffering wash over us, we tend to attempt to avoid it. usually--at least in my experience--by putting on a facade of stoicism.  and it's usually because we're trying to nurse a bruised ego. it's a common reaction. it really is much easier to pretend to be perfectly fine than to admit that it still hurts.

i looked up the etymology of the word "suffering". and found that it means, "to undergo". i realized that it is simply a part of development. so why do we shy away from it? oftentimes, when faced with difficult situations, we turn, run and hide--not realizing that "to undergo" adversity is part of this thing we call life. running away from our problems is like rejecting life itself. 

it is our hedonistic tendencies that convince us that pain, or any kind of discomfort, is a bad thing. yet throughout history, has it ever been said that one learns anything of real depth or value from the experience of pleasure alone? no. the greatest lessons, in fact, have been learned from the most wrenching trials of the human spirit. it is by undergoing the difficulties that we learn and grow. 

sometimes, when things get especially bad, we lose sight of the fact that the good will come again. we forget that we’re supposed to suffer through the tough stuff; we forget that it is through suffering that we learn to appreciate the good.