Do we create or reduce suffering?

So I needed a full day to think about what to write about.  I thought of the expression “suffer the little children to come unto me” but it didn’t really fit my mindset completely.  Though part of what I came up with fits the overall thought.    But I got to thinking about those that suffer and I had to ask the question.  Do we create or reduce suffering? 

Do we create or reduce suffering?

Doom scrolling
I get to hear the good
and well….
sometimes the evil.

Innocents imprisoned for long
years until shown they ARE innocent indeed.
Bad principals hurting the
efforts of teachers trying hard.
Animal rights activists
hurting the very animals they claim to defend
just because it makes the farmer look bad.

Suffering happens
on a daily basis
to people not prepared or
even desirous of such events.

I also find those who
make things easier for others,
who reduce suffering.
Like a teacher boldly going to
Tiktok during covid to help her
students laugh through skits
helping them learn through an isolating time.

Men and women willing to engage
college students (and others) in
Hard conversations to encourage
depth of thought and perhaps in the end
less children hurt, murdered, or groomed.

Dairy, goat, and sheep farmers
working hard to meet the objections
of the AR folks who speak before
they think about observations made.

Broadening horizons.
Seeking to meet needs
Being bold in providing answers
so that perhaps,
just perhaps,
innocents suffering
will be lessened.