Suffering is One

You are never alone in your struggles. Your pain, your fears, and your sorrows are not isolated experiences but are shared by countless others across time. We all face the harsh realities of life together, and in this shared suffering, we find our common humanity. When we carry our small suffering in solidarity with humanity’s one universal longing for deep union, it helps keep us from self-pity or self-preoccupation. The burdens we carry are not just ours; they are part of the greater suffering of all beings, even the divine.

When you embrace this truth, you move beyond self-pity and self-centeredness. You realize that your healing is intertwined with the healing of others. Almost all people are carrying a great and secret hurt, even when they don’t know it. Everyone carries deep, hidden wounds, and knowing this softens our hearts. It makes it difficult to be cruel or indifferent because we are all connected in this universal struggle.

Some believe that all suffering is one—the suffering of the world, of humanity, of God. Some mystics go so far as to say that individual suffering doesn’t exist at all and that there is only one suffering. This perspective invites us to carry our portion of suffering with dignity, knowing that we are contributing to a collective journey toward healing. This mindset fosters a profound compassion that can transform our lives and the lives of others.

In the end, our task is to protect the divine within us and within others, even when the world seems unbearable. If suffering, even unjust suffering (and all suffering is unjust), is part of one Great Mystery, then I am willing to carry my little portion. This is the highest form of love and generosity—to carry our shared suffering with grace, knowing that we are all in this together.