Often in our lives we experience "pain". I have come to believe that our best and most hard-won lessons are born of pain. Pain signals that there is something that needs our attention. It is an immediate warning, but often preceded by more gentle waves of discomfort. For those of us conditioned to living with pain, it often has to reach levels of magnitude before we actually stop and heed... and therein lies the lesson.
Being in tune with your emotions, needs and values - if we listen - before we are crippled... those gentle preceding waves of discomfort can clue us in. And save us from hours of guilt, hurt, shame and the continuation of the pain cycle. We were never meant to reach the depths that most of us reached before coming here.
Pain is a signal. A wise and trusted friend... not foe. In it is a beautiful paradox, how something that really hurts us can significantly teach and instruct us. If we listen we will not only be wiser, but more beautiful souls.
The key to this paradox is to get the lesson the first time. That means not tuning out the more subtle waves of discomfort. Taking the time to "listen" to your body and what it is trying to tell you. There is no one person more important than you. If you are not healthy and in a good place, the whole of those around you will suffer. Not that we are responsible for others, except in terms of those God entrusted into our care... children, the elderly, the suffering, etc.
We can no longer bury our head in the sand and then wonder what happened to us. Because of our pain, we have been given the opportunity and gift of self-discovery which can lead to life changing choices. In order to do this we have to stay connected to our inner core and it must be protected and nurtured. We can't give our power away
When we feel numb, disconnected or disoriented and feel those ripples of pain we have to stop and take time to be with our best "self", to reflect on how not to have that pain escalate to life-injuring levels.
And therein is the lesson in the paradox. We had the power all along... we just unknowingly gave it away.