#22 - Pain

Pain is sometimes a misnomer. While most folks will go to great lengths to avoid pain, or even circumvent the possibility of it, it's got a bad rap, that is somewhat undeserved.

Pain can be your biggest ally or your worst enemy. Pain will tell you when something is wrong and needs to be addressed. Pain instructs. It lets us know through our emotions that we care. It allows us the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and do the right things. If there were no pain to signal we've done something wrong, such as feeling guilt and anxiousness, we could do untold harm to ourselves and others.

Pain also affords us the chance to display and gain maturity by dealing with it effectively. Pain scares off the insincere and lukewarm and offers those brave enough to overcome it the ultimate rewards of life. Many attempt to cope with the various guises of pain through overindulgence of substances and other destructive habits such as drugs, alcohol, violence and a myriad of other vices that temporarily numb or kill it. The paradox is the more you try to avoid, trick or numb it, the harder and meaner it pursues you. Like weeds in a garden, newer, more severe problems start cropping up everywhere. When you deal with it head on, you are given the gift of growth, self-esteem, self-sufficiency and an overall sense of well-being.

Pain also protects. It sends our body signals that something is amiss, and must be dealt with or we will be overcome by disease or incapacitated if we continue to push ourselves in a harmful way and and need to modify our approach or cease altogether. It also lets us know if something or someone isn't good for us, and that we should avoid it. Ignore pain at your own peril.

As crazy as it sounds, when you look at pain as your ally and friend, instead of a bogie-man to be dodged and feared, the more you can gain and expand in your life. Because another great paradox is often pain can lead to...(to be continued)