Pain...

PAIN:

We all feel it at some point in our lives. For different reasons, it changes our lives. It has incredible power. It can paralyze us with fear. It can motivate us to improve our lives. It can drive us to become better and be more than we appear. It can even make us happy, for without pain, we can not know pleasure.

Pain has played an incredible role in my life and I thought I would take the opportunity after receiving some inspiration to write down what I have to say on the subject.

First of all, pain has the power to paralyze us with fear. Feeling tremendous amounts of physical pain can make us fearful to try certain activities again. I have dislocated my knee several times rock climbing, snowboarding and playing various sports throughout my life. Yet I never stop these activities. I learn from my mistakes and do my best not to make the same mistakes again. However, if I had given into the fear that many of us associate with fear, I would not have some of the best experiences of my life. Emotional pain is very similar. I have loved people who have turned their backs on me and caused much pain and suffering in my life. I know that I will love again. I will not turn my back on love for the fear of being hurt again. Similar to physical activities, you can learn from emotional pain and learn from mistakes made in love.

Pain can also be a source of motivation. We do what we can to avoid pain. If we realize that if we do not accomplish a certain physical feat, such as getting to the surface of a pool or ocean quickly enough, we will feel incredible amounts of physical pain. This has the power to drive us beyond our physical limitations and avoid that pain. Emotionally, we can look to others to avoid pain. We love people who we are not afraid to share our fears with or our pain. Having this kind of bond with a person makes emotional pain seem lessened. When we have our hearts broken, we have our family and friends to help us through the bad times. I know because I have been there very recently. I have made new friends who I have come to love in their own ways and old friends who I have loved for a very long time and know I can count on to help me. This kind of pain drives us to strengthen bonds with other people to forget about the pain and to deal with it in time until it is not as painful as it could have been.

Pain can even make us happy. I know that may seem absurd, but pain is good. If we push ourselves physically to our limits, we feel a good burn. This pain makes us stronger in the long run. Physical pain also makes us realize that we are human and the same can be said about emotional pain. When we are hurt emotionally, it makes us cold at first. I have felt this effect of pain a few times in my life. Every time, though, I learn to love again and to overcome that pain. It is because of that kind of pain that certain relationships in my life have become stronger.

I think that if we all are able to accept the pain that we each experience in our lives, it will make us better and stronger people. If we hide from the pain, it will leave us without ever allowing ourselves to experience what life is truly about.