ABSTRACT
Suffering seems to be an inevitable component of the human condition. It is universal, has always existed and presumably always will. Understanding it has been a major preoccupation of all philosophies and religions. However difficult it may be, it is still necessary to accept the inevitability of suffering and will remain so for the foreseeable future. But although acceptance must include acknowledging the inevitable, it does not necessarily imply passivity, as resignation does. Nor is it the same as endurance, which implies toughness, bravery and not giving way; or stoicism, which implies acceptance of pain or hardship without display of feelings or complaint. Pain is not inevitable. Most acute pain, pain due to cancer and some chronic non-malignant pain can usually be relieved by simple and straightforward measures such as analgesics. Acceptance restores the freedom to choose priorities to those who feel that their pain has robbed them of choice.
