A short note by Subhan
Here’s what I have learned over the years about pain.
Whenever I was in pain, I wanted to eliminate the pain and “move on.” The problem was that I had no idea what I was trying to move on from – except that it felt painful! My resistance to it, my attempted exclusion of it – often in the form of doing something to divert myself – did not move me on. It only suppressed or buried the pain and its source, which continued to haunt me from its suppressed place. This is the ultimate irony of resistance or camouflaging pain. Not only do they not stop the pain; they perpetuate it in very unconscious ways!
My mind told me that the last thing it wanted to do was to face the pain and experience it. So, many times I tried to escape.
But once I stopped running away from the pain, and began facing it and experiencing it, it mysteriously began to move on! And equally important, I learned that facing the pain wasn’t nearly as traumatic as burying it!
Of course I needed support to do this – and I still seek that support. People who have had this experience, and can understand what is written here, can be of tremendous assistance to those facing painful situations.
Facing what we resist or run from isn’t “easy.” But, as Osho told a friend of mine: “What you are not willing to face you will never be free of.” I began gathering the courage to face it. Yes, it was an arduous task. But, it has become easier and easier; and it is now extremely rewarding.
And besides, it’s never been clearer that the alternative only makes life more difficult.
This article was first posted on Facebook – reproduced here with the author’s permission
Photo (detail) by Hoang Loc via unsplash.com/@locloi2810
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