All of us have various forms of pain that we carry—some people are good with it, but you’d never notice that they are overwhelmed or stressed out to their limits. And yet some have a hard time bearing their cross, processing their emotions, and finding solutions for what ails them.
Pain is related to suffering, which comes from the Latin words sub and ferre, meaning "to carry under.“ Sub and ferre can also mean "to take upon oneself." It does seem like we carry our pain under our hearts.
Carl Jung said that there are two types of suffering: meaningless and meaningful. Meaningless suffering is one that serves no purpose, offers no insight, and ultimately deepens our discomfort. Meaningless suffering arises when we resist or deny our pain, attempting to push it away. This kind of suffering is pervasive in the human experience, as the Buddha also noted. Our natural aversion to pain leads us to suppress it, causing dis-ease and imbalance.
In contrast, meaningful suffering occurs when we embrace mindfulness and approach our pain with conscious awareness. By acknowledging and accepting our pain instead of suppressing it, we open ourselves to the lessons it carries. When we are conscious or aware, we know that pain is not something to be feared or avoided but a guide that invites us to listen deeply to ourselves and our experience.
When we consciously take on the pain inherent in being human, rather than repressing, denying, or avoiding it, we help maintain our good health, not just physical but also psychological and mental health.
Through mindfulness, we cultivate the ability to observe and feel the full spectrum of our emotions—pleasant or unpleasant—without resistance. We set the intention to sit with our discomfort, recognizing that it, too, has value. While this requires courage and can be challenging, especially at first, we grow stronger and more resilient through the process. We become energized, and our spirit begins to clear.
Most importantly, we start to uncover the meaning behind our pain. As the Buddha taught, the more conscious we become, the less we suffer. In this way, developing mindfulness allows us to transcend meaningless suffering and transform our pain into a path of growth and self-understanding.
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