“Suffering builds character!” Really? Is that what it builds? I thought it built walls, armor, anxiety, PTSD. Besides, don’t we have enough character already? Or maybe you’re talking about a different kind of ‘character’- the kind that is forged in the fires of hell. The kind I’m after is a little different. It’s built with kindness, tenderness, compassion, pleasure! Perhaps its time we re-defined our understanding of ‘character’. And let go of the idea that suffering is a developmental necessity. It isn’t. Love is. - Jeff Brown