Let there be calamities!

vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat

tatra tatra jagad-guro

bhavato darśanaḿ yat syād

apunar bhava-darśanam

I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths: Queen Kunti to Lord Krishna (Srimad Bhagavatam: 1.8.25)

Materially conditioned our mind and body resists pain and sufferings. Be it mental or physical, we hate to suffer and sufferings are always prayed to be kept at bay. Yet like it or not, like waves on the shore, sufferings keep on coming back to us on and on.

Surprising here in the verse quoted, a lady, queen to be precise, is asking for more sufferings. But why?

Hard to perceive yet true, sufferings have certain magical values.

We all seek glories and yearn to bask in our laurels. We all seek to become bigger than the biggest and richer than the richest. But for sure no one wishes for sufferings, worst still pay the bill for our dreams.

I'm no exception. But ain't "happiness and success" quite like the damsels of yore, whom everybody desired but none could keep for long, while sorrows like honest friend who are rarely honored yet never leaves you alone.
Lets reflect...

Often when our wardrobes get cluttered, we let it get more so; believing one day soon we are gonna clean them up.

Similarly often our greed and desires starts piling up and we let ourselves gorge into the momentary trap; believing one day we will start our austerity measures and clear it up.
And so for the one last time, let the indulgence begin!

But do we always do what we promise? Particularly the ones we make to ourselves.

Thus when our desires override what we deserve and ego overcasts the mind, comes the inevitable fall.

Imagine opening a wardrobe and piles of clothes falling back to your face. At that time whether you want it or not you have to put things in order.

Sufferings too, are just those times when our cluttered inner-self gets time to clear the cobweb of illusion, which we had failed to do ourselves in the first place, and get back to the track of life firmly grounded to the earth.

Believe it or not, everything happens for a reason. Worry not if the night is long, dark and cold - When winter is here, can spring be far behind?