Ink: suffer

One of my favorite tattoos is one I have on my arm — souffrent, which means “suffer” in french.

I often think of the meaning of suffering. The word invokes certain emotions, usually negative. It is something to constantly avoid. Yet, it is the basis of buddhism: life is suffering.

Is not “suffering” only a word? Is it an emotion? No. Any emotion from “suffering” must be one we have chosen to attach, unconsciously conditioned since birth. It is paired with feelings of loss, pain or punishment. But is this really true?

If we take the word out of context, what if we can see the word as a different type of verb, such as something as neutral as walking or breathing?

Could we now understand that “to live” is parallel “to suffer?” It is what gives us depth and growth. Depth gives us compassion and compassion is the connector of mankind — our existance; love.

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