“Who suffers not gets no ease” is an Irish Proverb. Those
who do not suffer do not get the ease that follows a period of suffering.
There is a similar saying that says that there is no light
without darkness. We need the contrast to be able to see the hard times and the
ease that comes after we have been suffering. “A smooth sea never made a skilled
sailor,” as one proverb says. We need the difficult times to help us learn and
grow.
Living an easy life seems like it would be a great
existence, but no one learns or grows from an easy life. It can be so easy to
be jealous of those who seemingly have it so much easier than we do. However, it
is important to look to see how much we are growing and experiencing through the
difficult times we face. These tough times make us stronger and more
interesting. We become more empathetic because we can understand what suffering
feels like, so we want to help others in a similar situation.
Even when we suffer, we get the satisfaction of a period of
ease and rest afterward. When we have to struggle, this ease feels so much
better than if it was a constant thing. We learn to appreciate the easy times
so much more after we struggle through something than if ease was our constant.
A life without struggle would be boring, so it is better to
have at least some difficulty so we can grow and expand. Otherwise, we never
learn anything. Those who have had the most difficult lives are some of the
most interesting and empathetic people around. These people have great strength
and compassion for sharing their struggles and lessons with the world around
them.
Personally, I strive to be someone who learns from difficulty and does not fear it. Many people become cynical, but I aim to use my difficult situations to learn and then help those in similar situations. It is so easy to become hardened by struggles, but it takes strength and courage to learn and then help others.
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