The Evil of Suffering

It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions

"We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival." - Winston Churchill

Sometimes I find myself wishing that certain aspects of reality didn't exist. That the way it is just isn't so. But it is what it is. Regardless of how much I bitch and moan about all the things I don't like and refuse to accept as part of the reality I exist in.



It has long been my belief that suffering is caused by the difference between what I think is reality and what it really is. The difference between what IS and what (I think) it SHOULD be. If I wish to lessen my suffering I need only change my perception of reality. That would be allowing life to be simple.

What I often end up doing is instead of allowing life to be simple, I will make it complicated. Instead of trying to change my perceptions (or more accurately what I believe to be my perceptions) to more accurately reflect reality, I will try to make reality more closely reflect my beliefs. I have often convinced myself that reality was once again in proper form (after a bout of suffering when it had become too difficult to ignore the truth). Obviously I didn`t change reality. I changed my perceptions (beliefs) again. Of all the silly things I have believed over the years (and there have been some real doozies) the belief that I can control and manipulate reality in a significant manner is the silliest.

Silly - weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish.

I look back on my life and I see many examples of an unwillingness to "change my mind". If I got into disagreements with people I would feel driven to "change their mind". The easier, less stressful and probably more loving path would be to look at changing my own. I have learned to get over that. I do try harder now to look in the middle, to see how the other person arrived at their current belief or opinion, and where I may have went astray in my own opinion, where my own ignorance could cause my own disagreement.
I have only an extremely limited ability to perceive reality, and almost no ability whatsoever to actually influence it(at least intentionally the way I want), never mind controlling reality. I used to believe I always accurately perceived and understood reality around me. Believing I had the power to control shows my perceptions were unreliable. But since I knew what I knew, I did not know that. I was ignorant of my mis-perceptions and my true state of powerlessness.

"There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance" - Socrates

I disagree strongly with Socrates on this. I doubt that he truly meant that literally, but was more likely "stirring the pot". I disagree with pretty much every aspect of that statement. I do not believe that there is "only one good" nor "only one evil". Nor do I believe that knowledge is inherently good or that ignorance is inherently evil. I can use knowledge for good, but since my "knowledge" is always incomplete, even when I truly believe (or even worse, when I "know") I am doing good there is always unforeseen consequences which cause someone to suffer. Ignorance leads to evil when I ignore my own role in causing suffering. Evil grows best when it is left alone in the dark. I doesn't do so well being observed under light. The light I shine on evil in order to minimize it's threat to me is the light of my love and acceptance for myself. I cannot deal with anyone else's evil. Attempting to do so leads to more eviil. I can only love the "evil-dooer", and of course do my utmost to stop it from going further, whether that means making a phone call to the appropriate authorities, or just having a talk with the person - there are varying degrees of evil. Some (minor) evil can be fought best by ignoring it. Perhaps "ignore" is not the best word. Reacting though is never a good idea. Subdued response might be better. Evil always grows when it is fed. It feeds on everything except love and understanding.

"The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding." - Albert Camus

Sometimes in my compassion I will try to protect people from the suffering that they need to experience. We cannot avoid the consequences of our actions indefinitely. The longer they are avoided the worse they will finally be. The longer I deny reality the more severe the impact will eventually be. These things are best dealt with sooner than later. The lessons need to be learned for growth and experience to happen. To protect someone from the consequences of their own actions is to enable to dodge their responsibilities, which only makes a person weaker (and spreads evil!). To love someone is to empower them to deal with their own actions and their own life. To have faith that they have been given the tools they need to make it through their own trials. And to accept that I do not "know" what is best for another person. To be filled with love and compassion is to be strong enough to allow people to live their own life. Knowing just how to help someone can be one of the hardest things to figure out. I must listen to my own conscience and act accordingly. It can be a real challenge, but then that is life for you. C'est la vie.

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." — Joshua J. Marine

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