The agendas that I want to have are:
- The prevention of suffering
- The reduction of suffering
- The elimination of suffering
I think as a group, these are the wisest agendas to have (personally & collectively). @yawnguy I only realized this recently and have been trying to center my mind and life around it since.
The way I see it is there is positive stuff; neutral/null; negative stuff. If you only work on the negative stuff, the best outcome possible is no suffering, a neutral state. What about all the positive not getting any attention? It's also a depressing environment for the alleviator, the caregiver, because he/she is continually immersed in misery. One has to be a saint to not be affected negatively by that.
I think a caregiver and person in general would only suffer if they neglected their own suffering for the sake of helping others.
If we focus on the prevention, reduction and long-term elimination of suffering (including our own), we are ensuring that the happiness we enjoy is not causing misery for ourselves or others.
P.S. I edited the post again to describe my current perspective. Thank you for discussing this with me @yawnguy I am learning a lot through writing, reflecting and discussing.