Alive Quote by Stephen Levine

We all try to escape pain and death, while we seek what is pleasant.

— Albert Einstein

To choose a hardship for ourselves is our only defense against that hardship. This is what is meant by accepting suffering. Those who, by…

— Cesare Pavese

You seek escape from pain. We seek the achievement of happiness. You exist for the sake of avoiding punishment. We exist for the sake…

— Ayn Rand

Suffering presents us with a challenge: to find our goals and purpose in our lives that make even the worst situation worth living through.

— Viktor E. Frankl

Some of us have a hard time believing that we are actually able to face our own pain. We have convinced ourselves that our…

— Wayne Muller

“Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individual souls- which, after all, we are too…

— Donna Tartt

Life is not always easy to live, but the opportunity to do so is a blessing beyond comprehension. In the process of living, we…

— L. Lionel Kendrick

We all have the ability to study the causes of suffering and gradually to free ourselves from them....it is not the magnitude of the…

— Matthieu Ricard

Most people have come to prefer certain of lifes experiences and deny and reject others, unaware of the value of the hidden things that…

— Rachel Naomi Remen

It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort…

— Pope Benedict XVI

Suffering dispels the illusion that we have the strength and competence to rule our own lives and save ourselves.

— Timothy Keller

Why are we so full of restraint? Why do we not give in all directions? Is it fear of losing ourselves? Until we do…

— Henry Miller