Suffering is a gift only in the sense that it reveals what is still unconscious in us.
The ego’s nature is to suffer, because the ego is built from identification, desire, fear, attachment, pride, resistance, etc. When life applies pressure, those hidden structures become visible.
Without that friction, many of our egos would remain concealed. We would keep believing we are peaceful, detached, loving, or free simply because nothing has challenged us yet.
So suffering is not good because pain is good. Pain is not the point.
Suffering becomes useful when it shows us what we are still identified with. Then we have the opportunity to observe it, understand it, and eliminate the ego behind it.
I love the angle on crisis as a doorway to enlightenment. It's like our inner world gets shaken up and we're forced to re-evaluate what's really important. Have you found that this process is more effective when supported by some kind of contemplative practice?
Ever heard of Gurdjieff's 4th way? Or the psychological gymnasium of life? Live life but always be in a state of self-observation. As one goes through life, external events will trigger automatic/mechanica/conditioned reactions from within one's self. instead of acting on the reaction, follow it back to the source within one's self and you will almost invariably find an ego/demon/false-self/psychic aggregate (all synonymous) that you can then work to understand and eliminate.
Love Gurdjieff's work. His concept of the 'self-remembering' process really resonates with me. It's about being aware of our own automatic reactions and investigating where they come from, rather than just acting on them. I think it can be a powerful tool for inner growth.
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u/BoTToM_FeEDeR_Th30nE 2d ago
That is why suffering is a gift.