Why is There Suffering?

Why is there suffering? An analogy that started to answer this question can be found in the experience of a potter. As potters, we take clay from the earth and form it into a wide assortment of things. At this stage, what we’ve made is very fragile. Before the object made out of clay can be used, the potter must put it through intense fire. Otherwise, the pot we made will quickly disintegrate back to earth with the slightest bump or a bit of moisture. Most pots must go through this fire process at least twice. Clay from the earth, water to make it pliable, air to dry it, and fire twice for strength.

Perhaps just so with human beings as on a spiritual level we could see each other and ourselves as containers for God’s sparks of holy Light. Yet the kiln is a very dangerous place. Pots can easily crack, sometimes explode or be damaged in some subtle way. But without taking this risk, the unfired pots are useless. Is this also true about those of us who’ve taken on these mortal coils*? When is the pain enough and it’s time to let go? If God does really love us, could she/he also be suffering? Is the price that has to be paid for life?

Life is so brief; with half a blink of an eye, our vigor wanes, and we are gone. What’s the point of so much effort, risk, danger and pain? Yes, we are part of the cycle of life, but so what? Without some meaning, life hardly seems worth the struggle. “Futility, futility, all is futility” Ecclesiastes 1:2-11(the Hebrew word is often translated as vanity). Why bother?

Spring is very beautiful where I live, and I had expected it to boost my spirit. However, this year, I’m seeing it as an example of fragility. For brief periods, I can focus on the spring song of a bird or the blue sky, but it can so easily get drowned out by the sound of ambulance sirens.

It’s easy to get distraught and distracted by warmongering, oppression, injustice, or infighting, and I know that pain and suffering severely impact the core of humanity’s being. As I center myself in prayer, though, I can connect my spirit to that divine source that is eternal. In this context, I know that the bird song and a beautiful sky are fleeting, but so is the siren. What is left is that infinite Light, an unconditional love, a perfect peace. No matter what, I know that everything is going to be okay. My heart then becomes full of hope as I see reality resting in eternity.

*a poetic term for the troubles of daily life and the strife and suffering of the world. The phrase is used in the sense of a burden to be carried or abandoned {upon death]” May 20, 2003