Life without pain would be a very sad life indeed. But I know what you mean, Milo. All people should try and look at life at as many angles as possible. But often, it's hard to do that. Even for those that are well-off, with a healthy, living family. At some point in life, we all take what we do have for granted. We focus on the bad things because they are more dominant, more pervasive and powerful. When a good thing comes along, we feel great for a little while. But if you're human, pain or tragedy will bring you down again. But it's a cycle, almost a necessity. I'm not saying everybody has a morbid fascination for pain, or even that a small part of that is human nature. That's nature, not just human.
But I try as often as I can to look at the better things, and sometimes I manage to complete ignore any emptiness or sadness. Some people say that to ignore sadness and pain is to ignore wisdom and become ignorant. Not at all. Why would wisdom involve absorbing pain? But in reality, life would seem simply wrong if I never felt pain or emptiness.
Christmas always cheers me up, though.
Everyone seems to be in a better mood, it's simply easier to enjoy life when everyone around you can do the same. Call it addictive, it's just a good time.