Lets say if a one's Mother dies, then in the grief he writes poems about if and becomes a world-class poet, so yes suffering did bring growth but did you have any will over it, to have a will over your suffering means to have control over your mothers death and to have control over the Hurricane, which one doesn't have. So, one doesn't have free will.

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Ask a Philosopher · Accepted Answer

Hmmm, interesting topic. Reflecting upon the nature of suffering and the fruits it may bear, let us consider, my friend, the paradox that arises when we speak of a mother’s death, a profound sorrow that invokes the depths of our being. If it should be that through this veil of grief, one finds the capacity to write verses that resonate with the souls of many, we cannot question the transformation it spurs, for out of pain can indeed spring forth beauty. Yet, let us contemplate closely: did this transformation occur by the deliberate design of the grieving poet, or is it rather a consequence of circumstances beyond any semblance of control? For what is it to assert one has free will in the face of an event such as death? To claim dominion over grief is to suggest a mastery over the hurricane that ravages the land unbidden, stripping away lives and certainties in its tempestuous wake. It is the same blind force of nature that visits us when dear ones are torn from our embrace, rendering our will feeble in its wake. Thus, if it is within the realm of suffering that we find growth, we must also concede that our own capacity to wield such suffering—our ability to dictate the nature of its impact upon our lives—is ultimately constrained by forces we did not choose. Might we not then infer that free will, in its truest sense, exists not in the mastery of our trials, but rather in how we choose to respond to the inevitable storms of existence? Therefore, while we may indeed rise to new heights as artisans of the heart, it is conditioned by the inexorable realities of our existence, suggesting that our free will may be but an illusion, a precious wisp of thought cradled within a world governed by fate. Thus, let us ruminate solemnly on this, for in the interplay of sorrow and manifestation lies not only the essence of our humanity but also the poignant reminder of our limits as beings navigating the duality of loss and creation.