Life is a tumultuous journey with all its twists and turns where affections returned and unrequited love, success and failure, ecstasy and agony exist in a perfect conundrum of duplicity and diabolic congruence. Pain, alas, is an incontrovertible part of life and the suffering and anguish it entails never fail to uproot our deepest strengths and suppositions of indifference and invincibility. We all think we're immune to it, above and beyond its reach, too strong to let it touch our oh-so powerful psychological armor. But, are we really? Who do we think we're fooling with such irrational reasonings and displays of utopian bliss?
The answer lies deep within our consciences and keeps echoing in the most sacrosanct recesses of our psyches. By building a protective web of indifference and immunity around our heads, we set off to conquer the world, but the real endeavor is the conquest of our own inhibitions, flaws and constraints and in the pursuit of the same, we live in constant denial of all the failures and the pain they engender. Ayn Rand once said, ''Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.'' But how long can denial be the source of happiness and what kind of a happiness that really is, one born out of constant lack of self-introspection and escapism from altercations with reality.
So, the question that arises here is 'Is pain a foe to be feared or a friend that helps us embrace reality and accumulate real happiness?' I opine that it is the latter, a source of truth and realization of our true characters and strengths and the inexplicable transformer of our restricted sensibilities. If we lose a loved one or meet with unexpected and undesirable ends in any venture, it is absolutely unwise and self - deprecatory to deny the pain and suffering and live in an escapist and seclusive illusion of perfection and happiness. It is much more advisable and realistic, though not as feasible (and sadly so), to confront the reality, feel the pain, analyze the lessons and come out stronger and better from the experience.
Pain lets us explore the very extremes of our passions, dilemmas, internal conflicts and stability and, therefore, is a trusted ally in our journeys towards our respective goals. If we alienate pain and in turn, ourselves, we'll be none the wiser from what caused it and will continue on untouched, unaltered and ever - restricted by the feeble attempts of lying to ourselves. The iconic Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran once remarked, ''Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.'' I concur with this statement and believe that pain is a true reminder of truth, a harbinger of reality, a means to bring out the better angels of our nature and to extricate us from hazy, illusionistic viewpoints.
Accepting pain is not pessimistic or weak, rather it's the testament to strength, realism and intellectual progress. It's better to confront reality (and, in turn, pain) than escape from it, because it'll keep staring you straight in the eyes no matter how long you try to avoid its glare. So, let's face it and be done with it. There really is no point in stagnation and denial! Life's a river of emotions and pain is an omni-present bend in the ravine, you can't cross the river without braving the painful bends and you aren't meant to either, not the easy way.
In conclusion, the following verses say it all!!!
The answer lies deep within our consciences and keeps echoing in the most sacrosanct recesses of our psyches. By building a protective web of indifference and immunity around our heads, we set off to conquer the world, but the real endeavor is the conquest of our own inhibitions, flaws and constraints and in the pursuit of the same, we live in constant denial of all the failures and the pain they engender. Ayn Rand once said, ''Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.'' But how long can denial be the source of happiness and what kind of a happiness that really is, one born out of constant lack of self-introspection and escapism from altercations with reality.
So, the question that arises here is 'Is pain a foe to be feared or a friend that helps us embrace reality and accumulate real happiness?' I opine that it is the latter, a source of truth and realization of our true characters and strengths and the inexplicable transformer of our restricted sensibilities. If we lose a loved one or meet with unexpected and undesirable ends in any venture, it is absolutely unwise and self - deprecatory to deny the pain and suffering and live in an escapist and seclusive illusion of perfection and happiness. It is much more advisable and realistic, though not as feasible (and sadly so), to confront the reality, feel the pain, analyze the lessons and come out stronger and better from the experience.
Pain lets us explore the very extremes of our passions, dilemmas, internal conflicts and stability and, therefore, is a trusted ally in our journeys towards our respective goals. If we alienate pain and in turn, ourselves, we'll be none the wiser from what caused it and will continue on untouched, unaltered and ever - restricted by the feeble attempts of lying to ourselves. The iconic Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran once remarked, ''Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.'' I concur with this statement and believe that pain is a true reminder of truth, a harbinger of reality, a means to bring out the better angels of our nature and to extricate us from hazy, illusionistic viewpoints.
Accepting pain is not pessimistic or weak, rather it's the testament to strength, realism and intellectual progress. It's better to confront reality (and, in turn, pain) than escape from it, because it'll keep staring you straight in the eyes no matter how long you try to avoid its glare. So, let's face it and be done with it. There really is no point in stagnation and denial! Life's a river of emotions and pain is an omni-present bend in the ravine, you can't cross the river without braving the painful bends and you aren't meant to either, not the easy way.
In conclusion, the following verses say it all!!!
Do we live and die and suffer and mop in vain,
Is there a rationale for the agony that drives us insane?
Is it worth the sighs, the tears, the silent defeats and disdain?
Yes, it is, for if it weren't, there'd be many a gains without pain!
Pain is a perennial friend, a mirror of extreme emotions,
It takes us deep within, makes us realize our innate strengths!
Denying the obvious and abstaining from acceptance does no good,
Accept and befriend pain, it's the fuel that drives us to be who we should!!
