a hope of seeing pain for the progress that it is
Everyone carries pain.
I remind myself of this, frequently.
So often, I long for the erasure of pain, and yearn to wish it away.
If only…
There’s a question I can so easily forget to ask:
What IF “if only” had really happened?
Would if only guarantee that my pain could have been avoided?
Would if only guarantee that my desired end could have been gained?
The trouble with re-imagining where I’ve come from is that I forget that I didn’t expect this outcome in the first place.
In other words, even if I could return to the past and change what I knew/thought/understood/did, I still could not guarantee an ending that I liked any better.
This is the nature of living a human life, one hung by invisible threads that can snap at a moment’s notice, yet still hold fast in the face of tornadic trauma.
We cannot guarantee anything.
I’m beginning to believe that pain is actually what creates the beauty and joy found in life.
If I had never known pain, or struggle, or suffering, could I even recognize the moments when I am enjoying the absence of it?
The suffering makes peace sweeter; the pain makes pleasure more precious; rejection makes acceptance that much more beautiful.
May we heal UP…recognizing our pain as the staircase of growth that it is.