Finding The Meaning Of Suffering: Part Of The Human Condition

It has long been recognized that suffering is a meaningful part of human existence. The French philosopher René Descartes said, "We think, therefore we are." And when adversity overwhelms us, we think about the meaning of our suffering. A lot.

As part of the human condition- a necessary, albeit difficult part- how suffering defines us has long been examined, debated, and, well, thought about.

Philosophers On Suffering

For the Ancient Egyptians, suffering was a result of divine punishment, demonic influence, or the natural consequences of violating ma'at (cosmic order). It was a trial to be endured, as the righteous would eventually find an afterlife, a perfect, peaceful version of life on Earth, free from suffering, while the wicked faced eternal torment in a hellish realm.

Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted from 3100 BCE to the Roman conquest in 30 BCE, followed by the Islamic conquest of Egypt in the 7th century CE. While Rome only officially recognized Christianity in 381, up until then, they thought of themselves as highly religious and maintained good relations with the gods, honouring deities.

Ancient Romans saw suffering as a consequence of displeasing fickle gods who would punish mortals for perceived slights, so they performed rituals and sacrifices regularly to appease them and prevent disaster, rather than to earn rewards in an afterlife. It also happened to be a good way to maintain social order.

This dogma continues to be passed down in many religions now, thousands of years later. But, humans being human, they set about finding meaning in their suffering. Even deeply religious people are sometimes brought to their knees, with an anguished plea, Why, God?"

And long before social media was a thing, philosophers had a lot to say. On suffering, the philosophers said:

Aeschylus viewed suffering as a painful but necessary path to wisdom. In Agamemnon, he says, "He who learns must suffer... until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God". This thought is often summarized as:

"Wisdom alone comes through suffering,"

Aeschylus (525/524 BCE to 456/455 BCE)

For Socrates, suffering was an essential part of life that builds character and wisdom. He believed that one should face suffering with reason and patience, as grieving excessively only adds to the problem and prevents a rational response. Socrates also argued that it is morally better to suffer a wrong than to inflict one, because doing wrong harms one's own soul and character.

"Life without experience and sufferings is not life."

Socrates (470 BCE to 399 BCE)

Aristotle believed suffering is a natural part of learning and a catalyst for growth, viewing it not as something to be solely avoided but as a teacher. He philosophized that suffering becomes beautiful when endured with "greatness of mind" and that the aim of the wise is to avoid pain, not just seek pleasure.

"We can't learn without pain."

Aristotle (384 to 322 BCE)

Cicero, believing that suffering could be managed through mental discipline and philosophical reasoning, viewed pain as an external factor to be confronted with composure, like an enemy. He focused on the individual's internal response, emphasizing the importance of uprooting negative emotions and nurturing positive ones to achieve a more noble life.

"Man must suffer to be wise."

Cicero (106 BCE to 43 BCE)

Although, aside from this sage observation, "It is foolish to tear one's hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less by baldness," is also attributed to Cicero. The sorrow of grief permeates our beings, and anyone who has suffered deeply knows that if relieving the pain means tearing our hair out, we would do so willingly. Perhaps Cicero, too, who is depicted with a decidedly receding hairline, had to learn to work through what works and what doesn't before, through bitter experience, he discovered that the reward for suffering is wisdom. But it's a path to travel, not a pill to swallow.

Modern Philosophers On The Meaning Of Suffering

While the ancients may not have had buzzwords like "personal growth," their musings still suggest they chose a path of personal growth. And the thinking hasn't changed that much; rather than simply attributing learning and wisdom to suffering, modern-day philosophers have explored the meaning of suffering more through the lens of "why?"

Rather than suffering simply being a burden to be exchanged for a happy afterlife, religious thinkers observed that we all suffer, including the Son of God.

"God has one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering."

Saint Augustine

Kahlil Gibran’s writings, like "The Prophet," reflect suffering not as a weakness but as a catalyst for strength. This painful but necessary process shapes character and resilience. Gibran noticed that "out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars".

"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding."

Kahlil Gibran

And according to Arthur Schopenhauer, suffering is a fundamental aspect of life, but the constant striving and desire for tangible things like food, sex, and sleep drive it. Every life history is the history of suffering.

"If the immediate and direct purpose of our life is not suffering,

then our existence is the most ill-adapted to its purpose in the world."

Arthur Schopenhauer

Friedrich Nietzsche also argued that to live is to suffer. Suffering, according to Nietzsche, is a vital force for personal growth, resilience, and strength. He said the goal is to find meaning in that suffering, and that one must actively seek that meaning.

"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."

Friedrich Nietzsche

In leveraging suffering to give life meaning, Helen Keller, who overcame immense odds to do just that, emphasized that the power to overcome it always accompanies suffering.

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.

Only through experience of trial and strength

can the soul be fortified, ambition inspired, and success achieved."

Helen Keller

Viktor Frankl accepted suffering as an inevitable part of life, but suffering can be a source of personal growth if one chooses to bear it with dignity and find a purpose in it.

"Suffering ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear, precise picture of it...

At the moment it finds meaning".

Viktor Frankl

Suffering is an inevitable part of life. It's in finding the meaning of suffering that true healing and the meaning of life can be found.

We choose, either consciously or subconsciously, how we respond to suffering: with dignity and a positive attitude, even when the situation is difficult or painful, or by being overwhelmed and dumped into a prison of despair. Or we vacillate between the two as we desperately seek to find healing and meaning. To make sense of our lives.

How To Find Meaning In Suffering

The trauma of suffering changes how we view life, how we experience life, and how we live our lives. Its heaviness weighs on us, and it's easy to overthink our circumstances, and even easier to go back and dissect every moment, retriggering ourselves with every new visit.

But we eventually realize that ruminating is pointless. The past is gone, and we can't change it. No matter how much we'd have liked things to be different, all we have is the present moment, with the sometimes harsh lessons we learned through suffering.

Suffering brought us to this day, this moment, this person we are now. It shaped us, maybe broke us a little or a lot, and gave us an entirely new perspective. There’s wisdom in that, as the ancient philosophers discovered.

Finding meaning in suffering seems a little counterproductive. Suffering is what you want release from, yet by finding meaning in it, you hold onto it, putting it at the centre of your life, your identity. Yet finding meaning in suffering can be one of the most cathartic experiences.

To find meaning in suffering:

• Focus on the present moment: Suffering brought you here, but it doesn't need to define your journey into the future. Right now, there are many things in your life that are unconnected to suffering.

• Practice gratitude: Beyond the positive mindset it delivers, being grateful for suffering is at least as healing. Suffering gave you new experiences and a new perspective. You are who you are because you suffered: Battered and bruised, but infinitely wiser, and often equipped with new skills you may still need to acknowledge: resilience, empathy, and compassion are a few things that are now more sharply focused.

• Connect with your values: Ground yourself in your core values to help you navigate challenges.

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness isn't always the fix it's advertised to be. For some, it works; for others, giving someone a free pass for dehumanizing you feels like acknowledging that you’re somehow the lesser human they tried to make you out to be. But that’s the point- you’re not, you’re human, and you have the capacity to forgive. Embrace it and take ownership of your humanity rather than holding onto the suffering that destroyed your life.

• Let it go: Look at your pain, sit with it for a while, and allow yourself to feel it. Consciously remind yourself that you can’t change what happened, and it no longer serves you. Let it go.

• Share your newfound gifts with the world: Serving others or creative work, finding purpose in how you endure the pain with dignity, and deepening your relationships are often accompanied by the personal growth that emerges from suffering.

• Reflect on the lessons: Be open to what your suffering can teach you about life, yourself, and your strength. Journal, paint, or create something that represents how you think now.

• Find meaning in your response: Choose to endure your suffering with dignity- it won’t minimize the pain, but it does reframe it as part of a larger purpose.

• Find your purpose: All the thinking awakened by suffering reveals new paths and awakens dormant skills that can help you rebuild a beautiful, completely new life.

• Develop relationships: Lean into supportive relationships- deep connections with others can be a powerful source of meaning and resilience.

That positive attitude isn’t always easy. Some days it’s impossible. And it’s always uniquely personal. Viktor Frankl, a Jewish Austrian psychiatrist captured by the Nazis, clung to his life’s work. His work- the meaning of his life- gave him the resilience to survive four of the worst concentration camps, the reason to function through three dismal years, despite horrific cruelty happening daily before his eyes. According to Frankl, suffering itself is inevitable, but you can choose your attitude and your response to it, which gives it meaning.

But there’s a difference between meaning and purpose.

The Difference Between The Meaning Of Life And Our Life’s Purpose

The meaning of your life is internal: it's where you find your bliss, your reason for being. On the other hand, your life's purpose is external: it's what we give the world, good or bad, and how what we do affects others and the world around us. Both are integral to being human.

Our life’s purpose, for example, can be to help others by becoming a doctor or other medical practitioner, making a vast difference in the lives of patients, but the meaning of a doctor’s life can be found in his connection to another human being, not their illness or pain, their soul within, as a co-traveller on their journey for a brief while.

Going to the hospital daily, doing rounds, and examinations is the purpose of the doctor’s day and can make a material difference, giving the doctor a reason and purpose for the day, until all the days add up to a life purposefully lived. But the meaning of the same doctor's life is broader, encompassing all aspects of his life, from the role he plays in his family to the smile he gives the guard at the hospital. It's that mindful connection with others, the reason we are here- to live and experience life, learning from and connecting with others, that gives life a deeper meaning.

Purpose is what we do; meaning is why we’re here in human form.

The Meaning of Suffering

Many faiths, like Christianity and Islam, view gaining wisdom as a central purpose of human life on Earth, often through divine guidance, scripture, and personal reflection. Philosophically, wisdom is mostly understood as a product of experience and reflection, a goal to strive for through learning, new experiences, and introspection. A tool to gain wisdom.

But whether it's through the lens of religion or philosophy, suffering is a necessary part of being human if we are to grow wise and make our lives meaningful. It's the unwieldy tool that forges who we are and what our lives mean. Amidst suffering, we get to decide how we respond- do we find the meaning in the experience and leverage it to extract meaning, or succumb under the intense heat of the fire.

But there’s no magic bullet, no “snapping out” of the devastating effects of trauma and suffering. It takes introspection and learning. And this is where beautiful things happen. Not so much the suffering, as the meaning that lies within the suffering, the wisdom to find the meaning of life, why we are here.

So perhaps suffering is the meaning of life after all.

More about the meaning of life

Good to know about the Meaning of Suffering:

Key points at a glance:

• Suffering has been part of the human condition for eons, possibly forever.

• For the Ancient Egyptians, suffering was a result of divine punishment- those who did wrong, suffered.

• Ancient Romans saw suffering as a consequence of displeasing fickle gods, they lived to please their gods, rather than earn a place in heavenly paradise.

• While deeply religious people, like the Egyptians, viewed suffering as punishment for wrongdoing, many good people who suffer are are sometimes brought to their knees, with an anguished plea, Why, God?

• In Ancient Greece, Socrates said, "Life without experience and sufferings is not life", and similarly, Cicero later observed that "Man must suffer to be wise."

• Modern day philosophers developed the concept of suffering as a means to understanding what it means to be human, and Kahlil Gibran noticed that "Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding."

• In the 20th century, the celebrated psychiatrist Viktor Frankl observed that "Suffering ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear, precise picture of it... At the moment it finds meaning".

• We all suffer at some point, but suffering, difficult though it is, adds a deeper level of understanding and meaning to our being, our life, once we find ways to understand and heal. But the journey matters, it shines light on who we really are.

• Meaning and purpose are different concepts. The meaning of your life is internal: it's where you find your bliss, your reason for being. On the other hand, your life's purpose is external: it's what we give the world, good or bad, and how what we do affects others and the world around us. Both are integral to being human.

• Purpose is what we do; meaning is why we’re here in human form.

• Whether it's through the lens of religion or philosophy, suffering is a necessary part of being human if we are to grow wise and make our lives meaningful.