[Adam]

I was working on a blog post, one that I hope to be a masterpiece, when I got hung up on a deep philosophical question...

I remember a story of a person who was in a concentration camp during WWII, who found inner peace despite a complete lack of liberty and atrocious living conditions... I was writing that liberty greatly helps people to find peace, even though it isn't a requirement, but as I was thinking, I just couldn't think of a single person who had found inner peace who hasn't been through a deeply traumatic experience.

For a few minutes, I couldn't get pictures of the Holocaust out of my mind, so I entered a meditation and quested out for a soul who had been through it. I found a young girl, who appeared to be 8 years old, though it was obvious that she had the perspective of those who have crossed beyond the veil... I asked her why she went through it all, and why so many other people went through that horror as well.

Her answer was "experience." It was so that she could experience it, and so that other people would know about it.

Well, now my foundation is shaken to its roots. My purpose is to bring peace to everybody, but now I am recognizing that you can not add joy to a mountain of joy; the excess would simply slide away without making any noticeable impact. You can, however, fill a pit of suffering with joy, and make a profound impact.

That isn't what I want to do, though. If suffering is necessary to find peace, then why can't I be ignorant of both? I have suffered enough, always in the hope that I can prevent that suffering from falling onto someone else's lap, but am I also robbing them the opportunity for peace? Why can't peace and suffering be separated? Why can't I simply add to the peace of the world, without wrestling with duality and precession?

Why is learning to love so painful?