Many of my younger friends describe their attraction to the “pain” of new “ink” being applied to their bodies. They also describe the deep drive that takes them back time after time to the ink artist. There must be something going on deep in the human soul that keeps driving these friends back to the “chair of pain”. While my skin is virgin, and I have no direct experience of that kind of pain, all of us know very well that the human experience includes pain. We have all hurt - this is something that we all have in common. Pain is a part of the journey called life and is a place where we can stand in solidarity together regardless of age, gender, race, or whatever. All God’s children have or will endure pain.
Is there a positive side to pain? In my personal life, I can say that when l reflect back, the seasons of pain were the seasons where I learned and grew the most. We have all heard it said, “no pain - no gain”. The beauty and creativity of the tattoo artist cannot be revealed without pain. The beauty and glory of your soul cannot be fully revealed without pain. I personally believe that the Spirit that guides the soul will intuitively drive us into seasons of pain in order that we can be transformed. Just maybe, this might be the same deep intuition that unconsciously drives my friends back to the chair of the artist.
I offer to you five positive benefits of pain for your reflection.
- Pain helps us understand other people who are in pain
I catch myself at times not trusting those who have yet to really suffer. There is no doubt in my mind that when we we suffer - it teaches us how to be compassionate to others who suffer.
- Pain helps us to better understand pleasure
By this I mean, what we view as pleasure is usually transformed by pain. Things that we once over looked are now so obviously beautiful. Things that we took for granted are now blessings and gifts. Our priorities seem to shift when we suffer - the things that become the most important now are often the most simple and primary.
- Pain toughens us up
Modern culture has no doubt been a whiney and spoiled culture. Pain toughens us up and forces us to grow up. If we can get through one episode of pain - we can now trust the universe and ourselves to get through the next. Pain moves us out of the baby stage and on toward maturity.
- Pain opens us up
The culture at times can be so haughty and rigid. When you experience a person who has been through a lot of pain - you notice that the haughtiness and rigidity has been beat out of them. They stand open and receptive. Their soul has been dug out - they now possess greater capacity to live life more fully.
- All social justice movements are born out of pain.
When we reflect back on history we can see that the great prophets who have impacted the world found their voice in the midst of pain and struggle. Their voices were raised up from the ashes. They struggled and suffered until one day they crossed the point of no return and said enough already. They got to the place where it would not matter to them if the call for freedom cost them their life - they were going to speak their truth. Without pain, I am not sure any of us would find the place of true freedom.
In conclusion, let me encourage you to let your pain be pain. It is never pleasant or fun to have to suffer. The shallowness of the culture will often try to draw us out of our pain prematurely, The result of not letting our pain be pain is that we miss the transformative and creative essence of the dark seasons. May we have the courage and strength to face our demons, the wilderness, and the dark night. For it is there the soul is transformed. For it is in dying that we learn to live.
No comments:
Post a Comment