Suffering.

There's this thing that tibetan buddhists practice called Tong-len.
It's an amazing experience (especially if you do it with a large group).
Basically, you meditate on all of the suffering in the world. All of the stuff that makes you cringe or feel guilty that you're not doing anything about it. All of that horrible stuff that people in the world have to go through that you'd rather not think about.

Breathe in the suffering. Breathe out love.

The point is, to face all of it. Instead of avoiding the suffering and pain to seek the pleasure, go against the grain. To overcome the fear of suffering. To overcome our ego. To wake up our extremely large capacity to be compassionate.
Your heart can hold it all, all of the suffering in the world. Maybe your brain can't and definitely your stomach cannot hold it... but your heart IS big enough for all of it and then some.





"The basic thing is that everyone wants happiness, no one wants suffering. And happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors. If your own mental attitude is correct, even if you remain in a hostile atmosphere, you feel happy." -- H.H. The Dalai Lama