Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind and has given up worrying once and for all.
~Ovid
Given a choice, I would much rather experience pain than hurt.
I considered this recently after hearing a similar line in a movie I was watching. Pain is a thing for which my tolerance has always be high. I have a constant thought during pain that tells me it will eventually end. There are times I have been tested in this belief, as I am sure you can agree. But sure enough, the pain finally subsided. It doesn't make me any less fearful of experiencing pain, but I am more courageous about running to it because I know it has a half-life.
Ah, but hurt, on the other hand, now that's a thing that can
potentially outlive us.
When we get hurt, there's a lingering that remains after any pain has subsided. It's a bruising that leaves us with a vulnerable spot. The experience of being hurt leaves us a little more afraid, a bit more confused and more aware of our probability to be hurt again. It's an awakening of sorts, and regardless of our age, it will most likely take us by surprise.
So where is the joyous perspective on hurt?
Can it ever be a good or useful thing?
This week, I've decided to take a look at "hurt" and how it can be used to bring more joy into our lives. What can we take away from a hurtful experience besides a large bruise and a limp? The quote above reminds us that hurt can be like a chain around your mind. So perhaps the first lesson of hurt is to refuse to allow it to hold you back from trying again. Refuse to allow it to be the fertilizer of the seeds of worry in your soul. Worry can grow into all sorts of fears that grow into all kinds of soul sickness.
And to do that, you have to address the hurt. Acknowledge it. Examine it and determine how to get it healed.
How you can take care of it alone.
You can do that even before you assign responsibility from where the hurt came.
You have the power to break those hurtful chains, right now.
Cheers.
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