I would venture to say that every person on the planet knows pain. It is part of the human condition. Whether physical, emotional, mental or spiritual, we all know it. I won’t go so far as to say that pain is our friend, as it may cause some of you to stop reading, but I will offer forth the idea that it can be a tool for growth and healing.

Pain is an alert mechanism that calls us to pay attention. It signals a disturbance that requires a correction. It is the way our system communicates its request for assistance. Physical pain is the body’s way of asking us to examine and change its internal and external environment. Emotional and mental pain call us to rethink our thinking and process and/or release experiences of the past. Spiritual pain is an indication that we are living out of alignment with our highest truth.

Knowing pain is easy. Understanding it and getting to its root cause is a different story. There is no way around it. You must go through the pain to get to the other side. Numbing or ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. It may change form, but it will continue to reside within you. You see, there is a part of you that doesn’t want to give up and keeps nudging you to wellbeing. You can run from yourself, but you can’t hide.

To start to understand your pain’s message:
1. Call forth your courage and look with eyes wide open.
Oftentimes, resistance to experiencing even the slightest bit of discomfort closes us off to our intuition and to any effort needed to get to the root of the problem. Pain is not who you are. You can coexist with it, observing and learning from it in order to release it. Pain is simply the messenger. The greater your fear of feeling it, the greater its power over you. By allowing yourself to experience the hurt without resistance, you diminish its grip and are freer to understand and transform it.

2. Don’t quit and get help.
Revealing ourselves to ourselves can be a difficult task. We can be incredibly illusive. The mind is a master at covering up what it doesn’t want us to see. Don’t quit. You are worth it! Being at peace is your birthright.

Sometimes, we need someone to help us see ourselves and inspire us with the energy to move forward. Do what you need to do to release and reconcile whatever is standing in the way of you.

Obviously, there are situations, such as in terminal illness when pain does not subside, but it is worthwhile to note that in many cases, pain is self-imposed. It may not be a conscious choice, but the refusal to look within causes the distress signal to continue.

I encourage you to look within. Clean house of anything that is not worthy of you. Forgive yourself for holding on, and move on. You are a marvel waiting to be discovered.