Suffer Easy
It means “I see you and I understand your suffering. I am with you.”
Combining those two ideas may not be conventional but so many traditions offer similar blessings. The Jewish have the expression Tzom kal which offers the recipient the sentiment to have an “easy and meaningful fast”. I love this because there is a warmth in the understanding that the discomfort will be of embraced consequence.
In the buddhist tradition we speak of the 4 noble truths,
dukkha: Suffering is an innate characteristic of our reality
samudaya: The cause of suffering is attachment and desire
nirodha: Letting go is the solution to end suffering
magga: Is the path to achieving this.
According to the CDC “In 2019, 20.4% of adults had chronic pain and 7.4% of adults had chronic pain that frequently limited life or work activities (referred to as high impact chronic pain) in the past 3 months.’ (Read more here)
Pain and fatigue are woven in the very fiber of our existence but we are so hesitant to share our experiences. Maybe it’s the fear of appearing vulnerable, that we are losing a battle against the inevitable deterioration of our bodies. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve had a client offer to work through the pain in order to not derail our established fitness goals.
Lets not quiet this suffering, let’s use it as a pretext to connect, to move, to rejoice in gratitude for the things our bodies are able to do. When we suffer with purpose, in community and striving to find joy, the job becomes easy. Not something that can be done on our own but in our interactions and relationships with one another. Kindness can go a long way in a world that has seen so much suffering.
