What is "suffering"? Does it have any advantages?
Suffering is an inescapable part of life. Whether it involves the minor bumps and bruises of daily living or major traumas such as terminal illness, death, or the breaking of a family, suffering touches all of our lives at one point or another. Helen Keller once said, "The world is full of suffering, but it is also full of people overcoming it". Though Helen Keller was not a philosopher, in this quote she tells us why the topic of suffering is extremely important in life. The fact that so many people face suffering everyday and question it's existence in their lives, is the reason that so many strive to make the best out of the times when they are not suffering. Suffering makes us stronger and more understanding individuals because it gives us a chance to rise above hard times and help others going through the same things. Without suffering, we would not have many of the religions and faiths that we see in the world today. This is because many times when people suffer, they question, "why is this happening to me" and find comfort in a religious group whose beliefs give them they answer they are looking for. On September 11, 2001, the United States was given an example of why suffering can be so important. We saw a nation of people with different religions, backgrounds, and beliefs come together as one. We see every day that in the wake of suffering, people come together without question to help each other through the hard times. Suffering also plays a large role in appreciating life by giving people a reason to make the most of the time, things, and relationships they have, while they have them. Seeing how quickly suffering can strike and change lives, makes people realize just how precious life is. We see this often times when someone loses a loved one and are left to question if they told that person enough how important they were to them. Many times when we lose
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