Thoughtful Tuesdays: Better the Pain Than to Remain the Same

Finally I have found the time to post 'Thoughtful Tuesday' for this week. I have a very very dear friend from up away visiting me. Her first time to the east coast! So our days have been filled with adventures, sight seeing, and oodles of fun. All this fresh salt air had us both in bed too early yesterday. I have lots to I want to say about this blog,  but I will leave it just as the excerpt and let it stir up thoughts in your mind. Feel free to share in the comments. Well it's time for me to sign off, we have another adventure calling us!

The following is an exact excerpt from the book Listening To Your Inner Voice by Douglas Bloch. I in no way possess any ownership of the following. I am simply sharing the thoughts, expressions and words of an author who has inspired me.

Better the Pain Than to Remain the Same

The Babara I met at my high school reunion was not the same person I had known a decade ago. A sensitive and caring person stood in the place of the driven and manipulative individual I remembered.  Her soft gaze spoke of new compassion and understanding. I asked a friend of Barbara's how this transformation occurred. "It's very simple," The friend replied. "She's been to hell and back".

Babara's story is universal. It is the experience of pain - physical, emotional, or spiritual - that inspires us to start the search for  something more. Many great teachers and healers began their spiritual quest as a way to cope with the pain of an illness, divorce, or similar loss. This discomfort forced them to abandon the status quo and take a new and uncharted course, a course that led to a major transformation. 

Is pain the only way we can grow and transform? Not necessarily. As we work on ourselves and learn from out mistakes, the ups and downs of life become less intense. Lessons come in a more gentle manner. Once the heart is opened, it takes less effort to keep it that way.

You are moving to that point where joy and bliss are all-encompassing. Until then, your pain can be your greatest teacher.

Affirmations

1. I make my pain holy by finding meaning in it.

2. A broken heart is an open heart.

3. Because of my trials, I am wiser and more compassionate person.

4. My pain has deepened me.

5. As I learn the lessons of my pain,  my need for the pain decreases.

6. Your Own ___________________