video: Why Suffer Without Gain?

We have referenced the error of a pleasure seeking life many times here before. But then on rare occasion, some individuals will go extreme in the other direction, of seeking suffering in life. There is no virtue in unnecessarily creating difficulties for oneself, or others.

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Before we go on to our main subject, we must first address the more prolific issue of hedonism. The life of the hedonist is that of pleasure seeking. Regardless of strategy, their goal is to maximize pleasure in life. Hedonism is a diversion from our Life Purpose, and the path handed down from our ancestors. Generations of our ancestors sacrificed their lives for the future, for a greater tomorrow, and for us. Our Life Purpose, and our duty, is to pick up that torch and carry it forward, just as those who came before us.

In our consumerist world today, we can see rampant hedonist pleasure seeking taken to new heights. People are trying to buy and purchase sensory euphoria. Smell, Taste, Touch, Sights, and Sounds. We work to purchase beautiful attire and accessories, without function, to pleasure our eyes. Trying to enhance our own beauty through body piercings and modifications. Even the prepackaged food we buy is injected with coloring because being oversaturated with salt and chemical flavorings is not enough for our endless appetite.

Arguably the most direct path of hedonism is consumption and addiction to pleasure enhancing drugs without medical necessity. While they may even be illegal in many instances, drugs are cheap and go straight to the point of desire. Whether it's pills, or herbs, or powder, or drink. Drugs are unquestionably a very efficient path for fulfilling ones fruitless quest for sensory euphoria.

The mistake of the pleasure seeking life is it doesn't concern itself with the greater purpose of life. It discards the lives of tomorrow for materialist consumption of today. Not recognizing or accepting that our lives are just a single link in a great chain that extends from the past and into the future. Our duty is to carry a torch of value, health, and knowledge to the next generation.

To fulfill that duty, we must grow, gain wisdom, and excel ourselves in life. And to achieve such gains, each of us must go through some trials and suffering. Just as a sword must enter fire to be made strong, we too must enter times of difficulty and be transformed into something greater.

Those who cower and run away from the challenges of life are punished with weakness and/or ignorance. They become an individual who is respected by few and esteemed by none. So we should embrace trials and difficulties in life, for they are what allow us to excel.

But here is where we meet the potential mistake of going too far, and taking refuge in a life of difficulties. This is the heart of the matter today. Occasionally there are individuals who confuse suffering and trials in life as the value of life in itself. They explicitly choose the most difficult way of accomplishing a task, or do things that are more difficult for no reason.

These individuals are inclined to find pleasure in pain, and a degree of compassion is due to them. Again, we all must go through trials and difficulties in life, but let us recognize that the value of trials is not in the trial itself, but in how the trial transforms us as an individual.

This is the true understanding of hardships in life. Just as a baby bird may fall from the nest when learning to fly. The value is not in the fall itself, but in igniting the initiative to fly. The ability to fly is the reward for overcoming the fall. Or like a tiny tree sapling. It must battle through harsh winters and hot dry summers. And through it all, transforms into a tall, strong, and mighty tree.

Similarly, body builders do not lift heavy weights for the sake of having pain in their muscles. It wouldn't make sense for someone to lift weights all day every day and just continually break down their muscles. The reason they lift weights is for the value it gives after rest and recovery. Muscles won't grow if they are just consistently torn without time to rest and heal.

So while we must embrace trials in life, let us avoid the mistake thinking that the trial is value in and of itself. No, the value is in the transformation of ourselves into something greater, and this only comes after the trials and difficulties.

There is no sense in suffering only for the sake of suffering. Everyone will experience suffering in life, but suffering is only a means to an end.

Suffering is neither a desired end, nor goal in itself. Seek balance, neither running away from all life's suffering, and neither running into all life's suffering.

As we embrace our trials in life, we should try to choose wisely when possible, and seek to recognize trials that will transform us for the better. And avoid purposefully having trials which yeild no gain, or trials which waste our time, or trials which cause us permanent harm.

Let's beware any trials or suffering in our lives which are fruitless or not providing us value, and avoid them. And help guide our loved ones away from such trials as well. Our lives pass from this world quickly. Be sure to make the most of time given to us. Choose the path which helps us grow strongly in every area of mind, body, and spirit.

Video: Honesty, Why Does It Matter?

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