Universal Suffering

We forget how fortunate we are. So often we gripe about our finances, our friends, our jobs, our schoolwork, our relationships, and everything in-between. I quickly forget just how lucky I am to have the life that I have. Sure we all have hard times, but a lot of people have it harder than us. I realize just how trivial my problems are compared to what I watch on the news and read on the internet. My problems seem so overwhelming until I hear of the continued oppression of women in the Middle East, the Haitian people that are still left in strife after the earthquake, and the impoverished people in my own hometown.

No, my problems are not as big as those, but my problems are still real. It’s hard to just ignore my struggles and put them out of mind. I guess that is what bonds us all. Pain. Pain is a common thread, a link, throughout humanity. We all suffer. We all feel hurt, loneliness, and pain. Suffering doesn’t discriminate based on socioeconomic status or popularity. Pain welcomes us all. The thing is, we have to figure out how we’re going to handle it. Are we going to succumb to the destruction? Or are we going to fight back in any way that we can? I choose to fight.

One of my friends, Stephen, made a video about the pain in our own backyard, and how a group of people are trying to make a difference. Check it out: DRM.