As Poseidon in The Oddyssey Informs Odysseus, "Man Was Made to Suffer"

Of course here Odysseus is suffering because he blinded Poseidon's son Polyphemus, a cyclops. But the Greeks certainly knew of suffering and explored it considerably through Greek tragedy. And because of a lack of explanation for their suffering, they attributed it to going counter to the wishes of their all-powerful gods. And there was certainly great suffering.

Before Greece united, when it was a group of independent city-states, there was greater war, loss, and suffering due to all the inner squabbling, as well as battling outside forces such as Persian King Xerxes and his expansive empire. The Spartans epitomized that suffering by sending all infants with defects off to die alone in the wild, for only the strong could protect Sparta. At the tender age of seven, all boys were taken from their mothers to be trained as warriors. Some may have died in training, but that was best to weed out the weak, for the preservation of the city-state was of the utmost importance,

But that was thousands of years ago. What of now? How do we interpret our suffering? Is it necessary? Can we avoid it? Should we? But the more important question may be, since it is so prevalent, why do so many avoid it? The sound of a baby crying is the sound of the inevitable: some combination of suffering and joy, then for all, death. Few if any who live will not avoid suffering, yet we treat it and death like they do not exist.

In Tuesdays With Morrie, Morrie speaks of hospital workers who expose of dead bodies down shoots to the morgue so quickly it's like they are afraid of getting infected by death itself. Sadly, death has been pushed to the back shelf away from homes and the family to the back rooms of care centers and hospitals, a disease in itself that the living don't want to experience, understand or learn from in the slightest degree. Yet, there are those that have been trying to tell of the inevitable for years.

"You hear that Mr. Anderson?... That is the sound of inevitability... It is the sound of your death... Goodbye, Mr. Anderson."

Not that we should just give in to death, but rail against death like Mr. Anderson who fights back with vigor and force, "My name . . . is Neo!!!" But at the same time we should not fight the inevitable and its cousin suffering, for who does not suffer? And it being a surprise to us, a "Oh, that stuff happens to others, not me," a shock to the system when we find great loss, suffering, pain, discomfort in all its forms is quite odd, and certainly something that needs to be addressed. For it being left untouched, ignored, or tossed to the back shelf of life is like not telling a teenage she better be prepared to get some type of job or training after high school. It is inevitable that she must be responsible for herself, for her parents will not always be there or be healthy enough to take care of her.

But let's get down to brass tacks. Do people suffer? How many and how much? Well, I have been studying this concept for years and have had my students speak of and write of their sufferings. And considering that many think that "youth" is solely a fun and frivolous time are in for something of a shock. All those commercials of the shinny, happy youth partying without care is certainly a figment of someone's imagination, for a carefree life is not as common amongst the young as one may think.

A former student, a boy-man of nineteen had his life changed by an eighteen-year-old friend contracting cancer. For him, this put life and death in perspective, and it certainly inspired him to work toward more productive ends on a more regular basis. His friend did live and is enjoying a productive live, but the outcomes of the seemingly endless stories I have read and heard don't always end up so happy.

As I've mentioned, many think that being young (by young here I'll say up to one's late twenties) is a care-free time when spontaneity and experimentation rules the day. And more of it occurs in our early years than later years, certainly; nevertheless, our youth do suffer, but how much? To address this question, here's just a small sampling of some of the stories, some of the hundreds, close to a thousand stories I've had the privilege and honor to read over my eight-plus years as a college instructor.

One young woman spoke of riding to school in the Middle East on a bus and while looking out the window saw a gathering of people, amongst them some who were "official looking in nature." As the bus slowed down, she was able to make out a friend of hers face down, dead on the road with her fingers pulled off. It appears that this young woman disobeyed the rule of not wearing finger polish and suffered the consequences accordingly.

Another young woman, also from the Middle East, spoke of an "honor killing." A young woman was killed because she was seen with a boy who was not related to her by family. She was killed, for to let her live dishonored the family. The person who turned her in? Her mother.

Another student, Asian, spoke of running in the woods in the night, alone with her mother, for her father and siblings had been killed by the paramilitary. She spoke of the fear she suffered, the fear that was so strong it nearly burst her little heart as she being quite young  did not have great  physical or emotional stamina and barely survived the ordeal. But she did, and now that she lives in America, she is motivated to work and live with great passion, respect, and honor of all that she has.

Another student spoke of being born to drug addicted parents, having to take care of her siblings as a mother would. She spoke of going to see her father who at 21-years of age was about to be released from prison but could not be released for he had suffered a stroke. It was discovered that he had cancer, and at a young and innocent age she watched her father die . . . in prison.

There is another youth, who I knew personally, who was born to his mother in prison, never knew his father and went from foster home to foster home to living on the streets. Eventually, he ended up in prison, spent several years there and was released. I worked with him some time, and he was eventually baptized into our church, but after moving away I lost touch with him. Before moving away, he often spoke to me, sometimes calling in the middle of the night to speak of former inmates who wanted him to knock over a drug store. He called me like an addict who had to be talked down from an addiction. But as I said, we lost touch. I can only pray for him at this time,

I had a student who suffered from back pain that was so severe he wanted to end his life. He suffered for years, with surgery after surgery. He finally recovered and is doing well now, but the experience has changed him for life. 

Another friend, contracted a disease that put him in a wheelchair and walker for life. In many of the times that I spent with him he spoke of the fact that no woman would ever want him, for he did not function "down there." But with all his difficulties and trials he is a person who can always lift you with a smile or a joke. But what of this man's life? What of all that has been taken from him because of his disease?

Another student watched her "best friend," a neighbor she loved like a second mother die in her home, die within her hug of compassion and grace. 

Another student watched as his grandfather was pulled out of the house in the middle of the night and was shot to death; no questions, no mercy.

Yet another student dreamed of becoming a famous rock star and learned how to master three instruments, only to have cancer nearly take his arm from him. To this day, his dream forever put aside, he suffers, his arm nearly breaking on several occasions, an arm that will never fully heal. All the time he suffered a missing father and mother addicted to drugs who could not help.

The stories go on and on and on. It seems that everyone I encounter, regardless of age, has his or her story to tell. But what do we do? Why is this suffering, this essential element of life ignored like it is the plague, when it is as essential to our existence as life itself. Why are there no classes taught to help our inexperienced and sensitive youth understand and work with and within this suffering? Why do we ignore its existence so? Do we really believe our youth are that weak? that a close examining of life's difficulties is not essential to the betterment of our youth? Do the majority know what our youth are being exposed to now through the Internet, television, magazines, music, never mind the reality of the street? Do we think that such a mismatch between reality and perceived reality, our nieve perception really exists?  

Why is it swept under the rug, left behind, ignored like it doesn't happen? and if it does, then people speak to the suffering like it is the exception. What does all this ignoring of the "essential," a primary aspect of our daily lives, do to us as a culture? Perhaps the fear of suffering and death has driven us to seek that which appears to protect us, great wealth, to such an extent that we end up doing the ridiculous, the immoral, the insane in obtaining great riches regardless of consequence to our country's financial health or even to our very souls.

We must work within our own families to help our children understand this most essential part of life. To speak to them often of their dreams, their desires, their fears, wants and needs. We must not leave the essentials of life unexamined. We must not ignore the inevitable, for if we do, our ability and the ability of our children to handle life's challenges will suffer.

But we must not go it alone. Certainly we have each other for understanding. But the greatest understanding or informing comes at the hands of insight that goes beyond ours. We can begin to find that insight in quite times. We must find quiet times to meditate, pray, write, exploring and strengthening our spiritual muscle. For if we don't, when those times of difficulty commence we will not have the spiritual strength required. But even then, the most spiritually prepared must go beyond the self, beyond the family, beyond humankind and seek support, understanding, insight, and blessings from the greatest source of all.