Suffering as a Character Builder

     It is so evident that suffering and strife has tempered my self to weather the storms of life when I see my fellows with weaker will power flailing and cowering under the slightest of troubles.

      The same weakness can be seen in those secluded from suffering such as many who are born rich. Upon losing their source of extravagance, the well from which the milk of indulgence drips forth, in the instance of the loss of career or other economic blow they are much more prone to feelings of futility and often suicide out of their unpreparedness for such circumstances.

      The poor will also feel the heartache and the gut wrenching fear in the experience of facing possible societal annihilation in severe economic troubles. They will choke on their tears and gasp in horror as they stare down the pit of extreme poverty. The difference with many of them is that if they have been tempered for this experience, if this suffering has been often seen in past experiences they may have gathered certain strengths to weather these storms. For these individuals their legs will stand considerably more firm as a weary sailor does, as his legs adapt and his psyche molds itself to sense the imbalance of the turbulent sea as it tosses his ship about in the chaotic ocean.

      Suffering is the way we feel compassion for others. The pain felt when touching a burning stove as a child is a way for one to understand the action is highly undesirable; the action should not be repeated lest the pain be felt again (leave these boo boos to random chance people. don't set this up yourself, freaks). The action of touching the hot object now understood to be undesirable, can develop in an individual a sense of compassion when seeing another's pain. Compassion is not a fully automatic response, and is dependent on a number of factors for it to emerge from a persons heart. Compassion now is possible when in it's original form (instinctual compassion) was not likely before the instance of pain.

      A person who has had their way paid through life will not respect what is given to them. They are like a man who has never missed a meal who does not understand the ecstasy the fellow next to him in the diner finds in the sandwich he devours after being without food for a day or more. The person who has not experienced significant hardship likewise will not feel much emotion for those experiencing economic troubles, health problems, etc.