Choice between suffering and liberation

When the Buddha was still Prince Siddhartha, he left his family and new born son behind to seek the truth about death and impermanence.
I have a friend who was quite upset over it, because "how could he be so irresponsible as to leave his son and wife behind"...

i suppose under normal circumstances, the departure of a father from his new born son would be considered an irresponsible act. but if you were to view Prince Siddhartha's choice in context, it have turned out to be the right choice.

if he did not leave to seek the truth, where would a lot of us be today? there would be no dharma /teachings to follow, no "one" to point the way out of suffering, no "one" who could truly understand that what we are going thru, is suffering.

i applaud Buddha's actions, because if it was me, i would have done the same. only times are a little different now.
given the choice between forever suffering, and the chance to gain liberation, it only makes sense (at least to me), that one would pursue liberation. afterall, liberation is forever, and so is suffering