Pain as Growth

Tonight's topic: why pain is necessary for growth. Certain kinds of pain. And it depends on the context. (Not to be confused with the kind of pain that makes me pass out on the floor and go into pseudo-seizures - that's definitely bad and unnecessary and downright superfluous pain.) But sometimes, in order to accomplish that next big goal you have, even though achieving the goal will be wonderful and rewarding, it's really gonna hurt to get there. (Take this as metaphysically or as literally as you want - at the moment I'm speaking mostly literally, as you shall soon see.)

For example, as most of my readers know (all, what, 5 of you? :), I'm a karate student. Boy are there more kinds of pain in karate than I had ever dreamed of. Not just physical, either - there's a certain amount of mental anguish and humility to be had by realizing that there's quite a BIG difference between telling your body to do something, and your body actually doing it. (I used to be so sure of my left and my right... It seems so easy really... And yet, in the middle of class when you're twisting your legs one way and your arms the other way while one foot goes forward and an arm goes back and that's just one of 20 steps in the routine you're trying to memorize, well, left and right get a lot more complicated. But I digress.)

The rewards can make it all worth it. My current goal is to get up to having attended 75 classes (since my last belt promotion at the end of January, that is), in time for the next promotion exam at the end of October. After tonight's 2 classes, I've done 57. Less than 20 to go, woo! And I'm in pain right now! Not bad, compared to other nights, or compared to a long stretch a week or two ago where I was attending two classes a night, 3-4 nights a week. THAT was pain. Muscle pain, pain from blisters, pain from body kinks, mental exhaustion pain. But it's all "good" pain, you know? It's pain that I know I have to go through in order to get what I want. And what I want is to be a better karateka, and to have better health and fitness, and to feel better about myself. And to get to take that next promotion test and earn my next rank. By enduring this pain now, I'm ensuring (hopefully) less pain in old age. All good pain.

A less physical example, but not at all the less painful for it, is the torture I'm about to endure as I try to wean my cats off of "free feeding". Yes, yes, I'm a bad kitty Mom - I left dry food out for them all day/night. Mea culpa, I have been educated and I now know better. But God help me as I try to teach my kitties that it's good for them to be fed only at certain times of the day. I'm gonna need all the help the good [insert your choice of deity, or lack thereof, here] can provide me. My kitties - and I love them more than I ever thought it was possible to love anything - can be little stinkers when they're not happy with me. (One more than the other, ahem...) And boy are they gonna be not happy with me. [sigh] (Those who know my kitties know the Massive Understatement of the emotional damage I and my furnishings are about to take.) But this too is a "good" pain - pain the kitties and I will share in different ways - as I try to make life that much healthier for them, too. [I'm sorry my little kitty dudes, I really do love you, and I really do believe this is for our own good. :( ]

So think good thoughts for me, my beloved audience, and if I sound a little tired, a little weary, or even perhaps just a bit testy, please remember what I'm about to do and try to be just a little bit more patient with me for it. :)

Remember, pain is good. Sometimes.

- Joan