i like what ocean wrote- "Do not resist it, do not flee from it. It is your aversion that hurts, nothing else." to live life to the fullest, shouldn't we experience both intense ecstasies AND intense pain? what is one without the other?! a yin without a yang....dal without bhat....difficult experiences (suffering) help shape who we are and they do make us stronger. and i think m-rose also has an important point- suffering must be defined by and for each individual. here's a good (albeit cheesy) quote- just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly....