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Dan's avatar

I disagree. I'm strongly in favor of continuing this "war on suffering," if it really needs to be framed that way.

So was the Buddha. His entire goal was to reduce the suffering of himself and others.

To me and many others, reducing the suffering of others makes life meaningful.

Doing so can also create suffering for yourself, but your own suffering is not the point. Helping others is the point. If you can help others with less suffering for yourself, go ahead. No shame in getting the epidural!

Of course, in many cases short-term suffering is necessary for long-term wellbeing. We don't want to get too soft. But wellbeing is still a good goal. Let's keep going in that direction.

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Jordan Hunter's avatar

Wonderful piece. I think you would find both C.S. Lewis’ essay, The Abolition of Man, and more recently, Why We Are Restless by Ben and Jenna Storrey, to be deeply related to this topic. And congratulation on a second child!

I’m grateful for the teachings of my parents and religion that taught me to find purpose in adversity.

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