Suffering: The Series Part 11~ Humans Are the Same Everywhere

I recently watched an episode of the Twilight Zone (old, sci-fi show from the 60s, highly recommend!) in which a man is given an opportunity to go back in time to any part of history he chooses, with the ultimate goal of stopping certain events from happening and changing the course of history for the better.

At first, he goes back in time to the bombing of Hiroshima and warns the war officer there to evacuate all of the people in the town so as to save the people of the city from the inevitable doom brought on by the bomb. This is unsuccessful as the war officer reasonable doesn’t believe a random American man claiming to know of a bomb he himself is not tracking as a war officer, and turns the man away mere minutes before the bomb is dropped.

Next, he attempts to assassinate Hitler, as many time traveling history changers tend to attempt when given the chance. As the first attempt showed unsuccessful, so did the second, as history made a way to keep itself intact by getting in the way of the time travelers attempts to change it.

After a few other attempts, the time traveler decides to travel back to 1880 and simply live there, as he believes it to be a much simpler time than the present, which is meant to be in the viewer’s present. Ultimately, the time traveler has to return to the present because he cannot live in a present where he knows the future (in his words, “I know too many tomorrows to live in today”).

As you might expect, the moral of the story is that we cannot change the past, and in order to have the future we want we must work for change in the present. It’s a time-tested message which will always be true, and one I imagine will continue to show up in media until the end of time.

So, what is the point of mentioning it? I could definitely use this blog post to explain the more “future predicting” style symptomology of trauma and suffering, and I think that would be worth it (note to future self, make this the subject of a future blog post!). For today though, the point that is on my mind is another, easily just as important problem: How do we change the future in regard to suffering?

***Record scratch*** Yes, I know. All the blog posts until now have been encouraging the experience of suffering as something more positive than our society has allowed us to believe, and it’s true! There is an incredible amount good in diving into our own suffering to learn what is at the core of ourselves (another future post of course!)

However, there is a great amount of that suffering which is caused by other humans, either intentionally, (abuse, neglect, violence, etc), or unintentionally (unawareness of personal effect on others, etc) and this particular suffering is both unnecessary and avoidable. And, as long as this suffering is avoidable, we, the humans of the world, have the upmost responsibility to be sure we don’t inflict such damage on our fellow humans.

So. How do we do this? What predicts human suffering on a long-term scale?

How can I know which of my actions will cause long lasting suffering to the people around me?

There is a long answer and a simple answer. The long answer will be discussed in this week’s podcast, so I will give you the short answer here: If it causes you suffering, it causes other people suffering too.

This may sound oversimplified, but it’s not. The fact is, there are so many things about humans that are the same, and the fact that I have a successful occupation based on universally true concepts about humanity should give you a clue.

If being treated with kindness and compassion encourages me to be a better person and reach for my goals, it will do the same for you. If being treated with contempt, resentment and criticism make you feel small, unloved, unseen and unvalued, guess what—treating others the same will cause the same effect.

Because, the truth is, we cannot predict the future—but we can change it. If we live in a world where the people of today are content with remaining in a place of emotional ignorance about themselves and others, then the people of tomorrow will be a product of that ignorance. If the people of today choose comfort over growth, then the children of tomorrow with also be ignorant of the world around them and likely become the same variety of adults.

Now, I don’t say this like a crotchety old man in a rocking chair who has only harsh criticism for the world around him. I say this as a young, vibrant mental health therapist who has seen and heard of the sufferings of countless clients, whose main source of healing is simply being told, “You are good. You are worthy. You are valued. You are loved. And the suffering I caused you is not your fault and you did not deserve it.”

Simple, right?

Then let’s do what we must to make these words a natural, instinctive part of our language, so the people of tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after that, know what they need to in order to make our society one of healing and progress.