It would be hard to imagine anyone who is not aware of the pain in this world. It's all around us. But, what about our own pains? Are you suffering and looking for ways to avoid the pain? Gee, aren't we all at times?
Physical vs. Emotional Pain
When you stub your toe, the pain is acute and immediate. It's also very clear where the pain originated, why it came, and that it will eventually subside. Emotional pain, on the other hand, is not so easily understood. Sometimes it's triggered by an outright event that is clearly seen and understood. Other times it is an automatic reaction that comes from "nowhere" and overtakes us without our permission.
Whatever the source, there it is and we'd do almost anything for it to be gone and to prevent it from ever happening again. Or, would we?
You see, the truth is that we want pain. Now, before you scoff and hang me from the highest tree, hear me out. Pain has its advantages. And not just to remind us to "never do that again!" While it certainly can be a warning signal, pain is also an indication that there's adventure in life.
Things We Put Ourselves Through
Why do we climb mountains? What motivates us to accept challenges? Why do we seek rewards and awards? Should we accept the pain as a given on the way to our accomplishments? Most of the time we do. We say things like; "No pain, no gain." But, is that really the whole truth?
What if we saw pain differently. What if there existed a bigger picture that proved there is no difference between the pain and the reward. No difference between the struggle and the accomplishment. What if we saw them both as equal parts of the same experience.
Adventure: Either we're alive, passionate and active or we're spectators.
We have choices in life. Every day there is choice. We can experience life first-hand or we can experience it from afar. Either we're an active part of existence or we're detached. It's up to us.
If we're a part, we get what comes with it. If we want to avoid all pain, we also avoid the adventure. Nature favors the involved. Choose otherwise and the pain of avoidance will creep in and weigh heavily on us. We soon find it was the wrong choice. The adventure of life is lost. We succumb to the lifeless drudgery of simply existing. And that's no fun at all ... is it?
We are growth oriented, adventure seeking beings.
Our higher purpose choice has already been made. We are here. We are alive. We instinctively know that action is what it's all about. We know, deep down, that the higher purpose of pain is to motivate us to participate fully in life. Even when it seems to guarantee us more "pain."
It's a Matter of Perspective
We can see pain as a dreaded evil or a part of the fabric of life. A beautiful part of life that teaches, motivates, acts as a signpost to better choices, and adds to the adventure. It's a matter of perspective and it boils down to where we put our attention and focus.
The truth is we can see pain differently. We can see the bigger picture. The higher purpose of pain is understood when we step back from the immediacy of the challenging moment and treasure the gift of life. Then we can see that in this amazing adventure, there is no separation between rewards and struggle or even living and suffering.
When we do that, we stop calling it suffering. Pain loses its negative label and its connection with evil. Instead, it becomes a meaningful part of the game we call life.
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