Pain vs Suffering

I stumbled upon a quote today: Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional

I suppose this is how I have lived most of my life. I have experienced some painful times. Everyone does, and we all go through the suffering stage which can affect you physically and emotionally. I try not to worry about the little things. I don't have the time or energy to devote to meaningless suffering. It can be so easy to make myself miserable over situations that mostly are out of my control. I try to remind myself to save the suffering for the real big stuff.

I'm not certain how I have developed this way of thinking. Probably from all the bumps along the way. I think worst suffering I had ever experienced was losing trust in the person that at the time I considered my other half.  Maybe it wasn't even trust, but losing that person period, realizing that they had become something so foreign that my very nature could not coexist with them. It felt like part of me was being ripped from my body. Natural childbirth doesn't compare to the pain. Once I learned to accept my altered existence, I healed, learned I could survive, and felt stronger and happier than ever before.

I learned that every problem or painful situation is an opportunity to learn and grow. Maybe if we look at life in that way, we won't be afraid the confront it.