Life is Tough and Full of Suffering

Life is tough. Life is difficult. Life is troublesome, but only as much as you let it to be.

Thorns are troublesome but an important part of life

Difficulties in life are obstacles or prickling thorns thrown down in the middle of your life path. It's in human nature to have ambitions and dreams. Usually we imagine a straight line - the shortest path possible towards our goal. Obviously, things are not going to be as simple as that.

What Creates Life Difficulties ?

We don't exist alone on this planet. There is our family, friends and billions of other individuals we will never get to know each one of them. And then there are animate and inanimate living things, as well as dead material elements such as rocks, wood and air. Each of these may turn out to be a source of problems. Imagine

• having your precious cookies stolen by your sister
• the loss of a grandparent
• being trapped in a tank without oxygen

Each of these may be viewed as pain points in life that makes us feel poor and helpless. It also turns out that even if you are alone on an island, life does not stop giving you problems. You would still need to hunt and scour for food and fresh water. And if you are a business person, there is no way to open or expand your business when you are the only customer.

After taking a look at this matter from that vantage, it seems that it is impossible to live without difficulties. They are a condition to existence. Rich or poor, male or female, slave or king, everyone has life difficulties. Even animals have to do certain things to keep on living. Even rocks and other elements continually face the threat of change (erosion, chemical reactions). Existence itself means exposure to continuous change. And it is human nature to dislike change.

Our Response to Life Problems

Some of us seem to be born to tackle life problems. There is no mountain too tall, no river too wide for these guys. They just keep on going on and on as if nothing happened. But some of us choose to wallow in the mud, whine and whinge about our hardship. Some turn to cigarette, alcohol, drugs, sex and other comforting distractions to forget about life difficulties, only to dig deeper into the cesspit.

Try and ask depressed individuals about their inclination to sleep when the black dog of depression embraces them. Sleeping is a state in which there is very little chance of change to occur, at least externally (if we discount the continuous bodily process). I believe this is a natural response to reduce the chance of being exposed to new problems.

Depression makes one inactive, fatigued, sad and lonely

If we look through history, there are countless cases of both celebrities and unknown people who chose the route of suicide. Ceasing to exist is truly the only solution to life's problem, but I don't feel that suicide is the answer. I think that choosing suicide is choosing to kill an immature spirit, ending it's potential to grow and become a winner.

Some people become depressed when they face problems. As a person who has suffered from depression, it is my personal opinion that people who are depressed are tired of negative change, of life problems, because they do not see a way to overcome them. Perhaps the hurdle is too big, and new problems are certainly not welcomed. Or maybe tackling it alone seems too much, and there does not seem to be anyone nearby willing to share the burden. Depressed people choose to isolate themselves from 'existing too much' by being exposed to life elements.

Overcoming Life Difficulties

I believe that winning over life difficulties does not only happen externally, but must come out from within. One must keep himself reminded that as long as we exist, discomfort will always be there and it is up to us how to respond. We can choose to physically react and fight it, or to be mentally prepared to embrace it. Sometimes it takes doing both to overcome a challenge.

However, for the sake of sanity it is very important to realize that until we cease to exist, new problems will keep coming to haunt us. A true victor then, is one that goes through many of life problems without being mentally and spiritually affected.

Looking from another angle, we can also see that there is no running away from life problems, as new ones will keep on appearing. However, we can choose which problem we can stomach and which one to close our book forever on (e.g. between hurting our parents feelings or breaking up with a girl/boyfriend).

Being mentally prepared to embrace a hardship is the only step towards spiritual relieve. It does not physically solve the problem, but it armour-clads the battler for the challenge. Taking the physical action to solve issues may or may not open another can of worms, but being mentally prepared is very crucial for the survival of the spirit.

Conclusion

1. To cease existing is the only answer to ending difficulties in life (, but to choose suicide is to prematurely end one's spiritual journey and potential).
2. If you run away from a problem, you will certainly get into another problem. But one is free to prioritize and choose which one to face.
3. To have a chance at winning in life, one must be mentally prepared. Even if you lose materially, you have already won spiritually.