Suffering as Purpose
What if you were put on this planet to suffer?
Ok, let me say this another way, as I recognize this idea may seem pretty radical.
What if the experiences in your life you view as “problems” are actually road signs to what your life purpose is?
As an example, think about how many people in the world who, after having suffered from serious addiction, later step into the role of healer once they have healed themselves.
This type of situation does not only apply to recovering addicts, however.
People with mental health issues become mental health advocates.
Parents who had a child die in a drunk driving accident become advocates for new alcohol and driving laws.
Someone who loses everything in the stock market and then gains it all back becomes a teacher to others of how not to follow in their footsteps.
The list goes on and on.
In fact, I am willing to suggest that most people living their life purpose, especially in the work that they do, came to do so precisely BECAUSE of some sort of suffering experience that either directly affected them or someone very close to them and in that way, indirectly, them.
This is powerful stuff here and I hope that you are open to it. You see, if you are still with me and believe what I am saying could possibly be true, then this means we can very likely use our suffering experiences as signals into the heart of what we are ultimately here on this earth to do.
Everything as Energy
You likely already know that everything is just energy. However, if you do not, here is a brief understanding of it: everything, everything you see, hear, taste, touch, smell and sense is energy in what often appears to be, but is not actually, solid form.
There is tangible energy, which we call a human, table, fire or music. And then there is intangible energy; things we cannot measure but each one of us knows about. This is like when you know someone is staring at you without actually seeing them yet, or the feeling that someone is in your house when you are supposed to be alone.
Energy is swirling all around us and through us. There is constructive energy, the kind that brightens up the world, like joy and laughter. Then there is destructive energy, like greed and anger. And as I am sure you can agree, as humans, we directly contribute to what type of energy is filling the planet.
When you are in an environment that is swirling with constructive energy, things thrive; plants bloom, people are generous, colors are bright, and music is uplifting. When you are in an environment of destructive energy, the exact opposite is the case. So then, if we want the planet and ultimately the known and unknown universe to thrive, which type of energy should we be contributing?
Contemplating this, it is an educated assumption that the purpose of our lives could possibly be to create the most profound and constructive energy forms possible, directly out of the destructive energy forms, for the evolution of the Universe.
This is a big idea and I do not want to get too caught up in it. Let me simply touch on it and say that: it is a very distinct possibility that we are here on this planet, not as humans meant to have jobs and homes and families, but as energy bodies meant to help organize the energy of the Universe so that it can thrive for light years to come?
Perspective as Freedom
Whether you believe in all of this or not, allowing yourself to sit with the idea as a potential perspective can do a lot for how you, on a very small and personal level, experience the suffering of your life.
As a result of the energy of our own suffering we are endowed with the energetic power to heal the suffering of the planet. Until we experience it ourselves, we cannot truly know what is needed to heal. Through the experience of the energy of suffering, we uncover what is required, on a large and small scale, to transcend it. Not unlike the idea that until you have been wronged deeply, and learned to forgive fully, you cannot know what it is like to be truly forgiving.
If you joined me in my last live event, Transform Suffering, I spoke about the use of suffering as a tool to help heal humanity and what I am speaking of here is very much in line with this idea. Although, I want to take the concept a step further and gently touch on the very big idea: what if the experience of suffering is not just about uplifting humanity but about uplifting the entire cosmos?
Choice as Transformer
You may think that every choice you make is small. For instance, the choice of what to eat today. You may think this is a small and insignificant choice, but as the Buddhist quote implies:
“Depending upon causes before and before that,
After and after that, the effects will arise.”
Your small choice, such as what shirt to buy for a big event, or what shoes to wear for your next run, have significant and massive consequences that are so deep and far reaching as to be incognizable to most human minds. Whether you can fully cognize the effects or not is inconsequential for our purpose in this blog, as long as you can at least agree with me that the choices you make do in fact at have consequences.
If we can agree on these few ideas; that everything is energy and that the choices you make have consequences, I now want to ask you the question:
If you make the choice to view suffering as though you are a victim of it and the experience of it only affects you, what type of consequences might this have for humanity and the planet at large?
How about if you choose to view suffering as though it leads you in the direction of how you can most be beneficial to humanity and quite likely the entire Universe?
I will leave the answers in your hands, the choice in your hands, and the suggestion as just that, a simple suggestion. A suggestion that you try out what it feels like to shift your perspective of life experiences, especially of suffering experiences, to one that embraces everything as a pointing out instruction on how to find your highest purpose.
If you make this choice, to view suffering in a way that directs you to what your higher purpose is, it is also very likely the case that you no longer have to hide and run from it. You may not have to try to change anything at all, in fact, because, under this view, suffering is no longer bad. Instead, suffering takes on the appearance of a divine experience that shows you the way to your most meaningful reality.
Again, this is not something I just expect you to believe, you have to sit with it and see for yourself. To know something, you must experience it.
Until next time, live mindfully, be well,
Sarah
*Comment or send us a message and let us know your thoughts on this perspective shift. We would love to hear from you.
**If you want to go deeper on this topic, the recording for the February event, Transform Suffering, is on the Mindful Island YouTube channel and my Insight Timer account now. And please consider showing up for our March Insight Timer event where I will use this perspective to discuss the qualities needed to break the bonds of karma. If there is any other way I can be of service to you on your path, please do not hesitate to reach out.
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