What is the description of pain? It is anguishing, excruciating, harrowing, causes dire suffering, heart and gut wrenching, aching, and vexatious. Pain is emotional, mental, physical and spiritual. It stays with us like a limpet, and we cherish it.

Can we be free of pain? Are we clinging to it? Is it our support system? Can we learn from it? Can we make it a genuine friend and use it creatively and proactively?

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” Khalil Gibran.

“I have learnt now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.” C S Lewis.

For all those who believe in fairies:

My Fairy. By Lewis Carroll.

I have a fairy by my side which says I must not sleep.
When once in pain I loudly cried It said “You must not weep”
If full of mirth, I smile and grin, It says “You must not laugh”
When once I wished to drink some gin, It said “You must not quaff”.
When once a meal I wished to taste, It said “You must not bite”
When to the wars I went in haste, It said “You must not fight”
“What may I do?” At length I cried, tired of the painful task.
At length the fairy quietly replied and said “You must not ask”.
Moral: “You mustn’t.”

Quotes by Herman Hesse.
“If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What is not part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.”
“Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest.”

Stefan Zweig, “Unless our souls had root in soil divine, we could not bear earth’s overwhelming strife. The fiercest pain that racks this heart of mine convinces me of everlasting life.”

We come back to pain

Pain is part of our life; it makes us remember that we are not alone. For some of us it is always there and it enables us to have more prana as we accept it and have no rancor for it. If we speak about our pain or write about it, it becomes bearable and we accept it. It is not about being courageous and conquering it. We are brave and fearless when we share our grief, sense of loss and illness. Hiding it makes life impossible for us and we become helpless and vulnerable. Many of us experience spiritual agony and we think that we have been forgotten. We are blessed as it is this spiritual anguish which brings us closer to the divine presence which absorbs our pain.

Do not be afraid of pain, look upon it as a lifelong investment which keeps you on your toes. It makes you whole, and brings out the best in you.

Aim Hrim Klim

Photo by julien Tromeur on Unsplash