We all suffer in one way or another.We feel pain as a part of life.It is hard to see a reason for suffering.Yet there is at least one clear benefit to our suffering.And that is how it teaches us to be more compassionate.Sometimes, when we see others suffering and we are not, it can be hard to relate to.We can't understand why they are having such a hard time.What's the big deal?Until we go through it ourselves.While everything in our life is good, we may not be growing.We may not be learning empathy.We may not be truly understanding what others are going through.Yet when we have been through a hard time ourselves, we see it with different eyes.We understand better.Not from an abstract, mental point of view.From a heart-center, experience point of view.It is very different when we go through a big loss.We understand much better how it feels.Why we miss what we lost so much.The pain we feel.There is no replacement for that.So once we have been through the pain ourselves, we can relate to others in pain so much better.We understand because we have been through it.We empathize because we know how it feels.It may not seem that suffering is helping us in the moment.Yet it does.For after we have gotten through it, and have healed from the pain, we can share the experience with others.To let them know that it won't last forever.That it does get better.That we will feel better eventually.Yes, everyone's path is different.Everyone has their own experiences to go through.Yet when we take a longer view of life, we can find purpose.We can find meaning.We can find that the suffering has helped us in some way.Even if the only apparent benefit is then being able others through the same pain.Is that not something to cherish?Is that not a true resource to have in our lives?We are not the only ones who suffer.Yet in helping others through their own suffering, we feel lighter.We feel better.We heal.

~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant