Quotes About Suffering

"My suffering is born of confusion."

The source of all suffering

"You see, no matter how isolated anyone may feel they are in life, which is really the source of all human suffering, no matter how separate or cast out anyone may think they are or feel that they are, they are still connected to God. They are connected through Knowledge."

Shorter Quotes About Suffering

“You were made to give. You are the gift. Without giving, life is miserable.”

“It is what is meaningful that is lacking, and that is why people suffer.”

"The world is in ambivalence. It is in confusion and is suffering all of the results of this."

“Your life is given to fulfillment. That is why you suffer.”

"The suffering, the conflict, the deprivation you see in the world amongst the rich and the poor is the product of human confusion and misunderstanding."

"To escape suffering means you have to face suffering. And facing suffering you may feel it more, for a time. The great blessing is that you have a way out."

"We cannot take your habit of suffering from you, but we can demonstrate to you that it is no longer of value to you, and need not be called upon in response to change or to new experience or information. You are still in charge of your experience, but you cannot lead yourself."

“What afflicts you afflicts everyone. Though the affliction may become manifest in a unique way in your life, it is the same affliction. It is the result of living life without Knowledge and being bound to survival and personal gratification, which is living life desperately and without true substance and foundation.”

“The world is a hungry and lonely place. It is full of fantasy and folly. Its suffering is profound. Its confusion is deep. Its violence is sickening. Its possibilities are great. Who can see these things but those who realize that they have come from beyond the world to give something?”

Quotes of the Messenger

"Your suffering is only a clue. Do not make a song out of it and sing it the rest of your life."

"To escape suffering means you have to face suffering. And facing suffering you may feel it more, for a time. The great blessing is that you have a way out."

Directives

“Realize the power of Knowledge to end all of your suffering and eventually the suffering of the world.”

Longer Quotes about Suffering

“You work diligently to improve the quality of life here, but it is more mysterious than simply making everything look better, making all people look better and making all pain seem to go away. People did not come here to be painless. That is like going to the ocean and refusing to get wet. If you wish to get involved, you must accept some degree of discomfort. There are painful circumstances here. You will have little aches and pains even if you live an immaculate life.”

"God will call everyone back eventually, but eventually could be a long time from now. In the interim, you suffer--you live in darkness and confusion. You do not realize your power, your value or the greater strength of Knowledge within you that is waiting to be discovered and is trying to save you even at this moment."

"Strengthen your resolve not to suffer today by being a student of Knowledge, by adhering to Knowledge and by devoting yourself to Knowledge. Do not let the world draw you into its meaningless pursuits, into its hopeless endeavors or into its incensed conflicts. All these things still hold attraction for you, yet do not allow yourself to give into them today, for the persuasions of the world are born of the world’s great anxiety and fear. Anxiety and fear are like diseases that affect minds. Do not allow your mind to be so affected today.You do not want to suffer today, and suffer you will if you follow the world’s persuasions. Participate in the world and fulfill your mundane responsibilities, but strengthen your resolve to be a student of Knowledge, for this will free you from all suffering and will give you the greatness that you are intended to give to the world."

"At the surface of your mind, you suffer over every little thing, and you have great anxieties about your future and well-being—always the fear of future loss, always the fear of the innumerable things that can happen to you and to those that you care for. How can you ever know anything at this level, so filled with fear and ambition, so easily distracted, so easily manipulated, so easily controlled, so easily dominated by the opinions or the determinations of others?"

“You work diligently to improve the quality of life here, but it is more mysterious than simply making everything look better, making all people look better and making all pain seem to go away. People did not come here to be painless. That is like going to the ocean and refusing to get wet. If you wish to get involved, you must accept some degree of discomfort. There are painful circumstances here. You will have little aches and pains even if you live an immaculate life.”

“It is very important to realize that suffering is not disappointment. To have something you want not turn out for you is not suffering; it is disappointment. Suffering is when you long for something that cannot be or when you long for something that you do not really want. What attends that kind of suffering is hope and disappointment. Hope recommits you to your suffering and disappointment offers escape.”

Further Study

• Wisdom from the Greater Community, Book 1, Chapter 22: Escaping Suffering