We come from a variety of walks of life. Some of us have health, good jobs, free time, and many other things that all may see. We are diverse people from diverse backgrounds.
One thing that all people everywhere have in common is something others don’t always see: we all suffer. Suffering is an inevitable part of life. What we do with our health, at our jobs, or with our free time is important, but what we do with our suffering decides our destiny.
We all are familiar with various pieces of sage advice on handling suffering. We know when we need help, we shouldn’t be too proud to ask for help.
We know that we need to face adversity rather than shy away from it.
We know that self-care without self-awareness is just self-indulgence.
We know these things mentally. Yet, how often does that knowledge translate into action in real life?
Does knowing these things help us deal with difficult situations in our relationships to avoid suffering?
Does it give us patience when working through physical ailments?
Ultimately, the way we respond to suffering is primarily dictated by our discipline.
In Tumfo Tu, we understand that discipline is merely the habits that we reinforce day-by-day and hour-by-hour.
When real life happens, no matter what good advice we’ve heard, our bad habits rule the day. Discipline always trumps mere philosophy.
At Tumfo Tu, we discipline ourselves to suffer well. We practice being in uncomfortable situations and finding peace rather than escape. We train how to take care of business even when we’re too hot or too cold. When we inevitably encounter suffering, we choose to embrace it and use it to better ourselves. We know we can survive our suffering.
Most Americans are terrified of public speaking. Children who train this way come out of it being able to express themselves eloquently to a room full of adults. People too shy to make eye-contact learn to handle anyone they encounter in life. When challenging situations arise, instead of avoiding suffering, we’ll have the difficult conversations and do the hard work.
The discipline we learn at Tumfo Tu allows us to suffer well.
In every sphere of life, we are all the better for it.