The Distinction Between Pain and Suffering: A Key to Peaceful Living
Karolina Przewloka LaBrecque
Stressed out? | Helping gifted, and talented professionals manage stress and find balance in their work, business, and life | Keynote Speaker | Workshop Facilitator | Detangling the Tangle and Stress "Slayer"
In life, pain is unavoidable. It’s the cut on your hand, the heartbreak of loss, or the fatigue after a long day. But suffering? That’s different. Suffering is not the same as pain itself. It’s the emotional weight we carry when we resist or hold on to our pain.
Here's the core difference: Pain is a temporary, physical or emotional sensation, while suffering is our mental and emotional response to that sensation. Suffering grows when we attach meaning to pain, like worrying it will last forever or wishing things were different. This distinction is key because, while we may not be able to control all pain, we have the power to reduce our suffering.
Think of suffering as the fire we feed with logs of fear, resistance, and old beliefs. By understanding this, we can stop feeding that fire. We can take a deep breath, acknowledge the pain, and let go of the layers of thoughts that turn that pain into prolonged suffering.
This is a principle we explore deeply in the Befriending Your Life framework, where the focus is not just on surviving pain but on befriending every part of our lives—including the painful ones. When we stop resisting and start understanding our reactions, we give ourselves the chance to heal.
Are you ready to transform pain into growth, and to let go of suffering? 🌱 Join the Befriending Your Life group on Skool to dive deeper, share with a supportive community, and discover tools that empower you to live with peace, balance, and resilience. Together, let's befriend our lives—pain and all.
#HelpToGrow #BefriendingYourLife #PainVsSuffering #MentalHealth #Resilience #SelfGrowth
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2moI love that you are bringing this to light Karolina Przewloka LaBrecque! It's so important to understand the distinction. As well as our ability to participate through making choices around how we perceive what we experience and how much we suffer over it.