Recreating the Soul
I was about to write something about a book my dad gave me to read... but just like my other pending journals...this one has to wait... something more interesting came up...
While praying, our animator noticed how bent my companion was towards herself... as if in deep pain.
The challenge is to feel pain and then transcend it. It gives us the inner strength to set us free from our EGOISM and veer towards OTHER people.
Soul's Light: Rising from the Ashes
Memoirs of a Young Traveler
Affairs of the Heart
Leaving the Garden of Eden: A Passage to Freedom
A net journal is quite difficult to maintain but since the diaries of this millennium are meant to be shared, then I guess, I'll just try to figure a way to keep them up.
This is an extended journal sharing... to a friend's friend...
Most of my reflections come from my experiences with my patients and their relatives... colleagues and friends... and my own as well...
When one is in pain, whether it be physical or emotional... the natural tendency of humans is to protect itself from it. We call it fight vs. flight. Face it or evade it. It's a natural human reaction. What causes it or who contributes to pain's gravity are also factors to consider.
Francisco Icasiano wrote Pain, I have realized, is beautiful only when one can rise from its depressing power... I remember writing the same thing to an intimate friend. She became inactive for awhile but I saw her rose from her miseries ~ a very strong woman indeed.
She wrote me that she wasn't hiding...
she was recreating herself...
While praying, our animator noticed how bent my companion was towards herself... as if in deep pain.
Have you ever noticed that when your tooth aches or you have stomach cramps, you touch that area of pain and lean towards that body part?
It is normal... to feel the pain... but beware not to linger (hmmm...I have to repeat that to myself)... nor to get rid of it too soon. Look for the roots... and from there... choose...
You are right, pain is a feeling, and therefore, it is fleeting. It is part of our reality...yes... but...
The challenge is to feel pain and then transcend it. It gives us the inner strength to set us free from our EGOISM and veer towards OTHER people.
If it's a life lived for others, how can we still say it's bullshit?
I love you and feel close to you who feel it right now... listen to yourself then open your ears and heart to other people... you'll see the wonders this pain has brought you...
Rise!
"Rooted and built up in Jesus Christ,
firm in the faith."
- Colossians 2,7
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Related links: Soul's Light: Rising from the Ashes
Memoirs of a Young Traveler
Affairs of the Heart
Leaving the Garden of Eden: A Passage to Freedom
Melissa, this post so struck home for me, personally and presently. For two days now, I have had inexplicable pain in my left back which radiates to the muscles around my heart. I have had difficulty taking deep breaths or bending over to pick up an object. This is so unlike anything I have ever experienced, and has been so unwelcome as this intruded upon vacation time.
ReplyDeleteYou have reminded me here - do not linger! Do not worry about the "thorn in the side" but in everything and in all circumstances give thanks to God. Move forward in faith. Trust in His healing grace. Love others, no matter what!
The pain will recede.
How we deal with it will draw us closer to Him.
Beautiful post, my dear . . .
Blessings!
Wow...This was a beautiful post. Serving and loving others is never in vain. I like how you wrote that we must transcend our pain...So true! I think that can be easier said than done, but it definitely helps when one doesn't dwell on it..and to go full circle, a great way to avoid dwelling on one's pain is to focus in helping others. It does good for them and helps us heal as well.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful post Mel. I am sort of stuck right now in a rut..a combination of pain (emotional) boredom and frustration arising from it. I am trying to get out of it...slowly it is happening.
ReplyDeleteAll I CAN SAY IS THE POST IS AS BEAUTIFUL AS is pain and finally when and when i read that poem I cried....
ReplyDeleteA really tough job to do but one that makes a whole lot of sense Melissa! You are fortunate to engage in making it simpler for others... Tons of hugs!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post. I agree pain is a powerful feeling even more than happiness because in pain u discover urself, learn a lot, rise high n above and above all gain wisdom.
ReplyDeleteLove
Mani
Hello Melissa.
ReplyDeleteSickness, ill-health & old age are all a part of the "curse" of sin. We are wasting away physically, but if we continue to feed our minds with God's promises of a paradise earth, we are renewed spiritually.
2 Cor. 4:13,16-18
Rev. 21: 4,5
Thought-provoking post from you Mels. Thanks for sharing.
I love the new background...that shade of pink is beautiful...very romantic (smile).
If we let pain take over then it rules us both mentally and physically.. I went through an experience a few weeks ago... I observed how my emotions and body language changed when I gave power to that pain...The day I decided to control my pain... things changed...
ReplyDeleteThank you for this insightful post.
Melissa, Emerging from fire makes you stronger and tougher. A beautiful,thought provoking, sensitive post.Helping others lessens our pain, and makes them happy too. Thank you for sharing this lovely post with us.
ReplyDeleteI have so much inner pain....some of which I see you learn to understand through my words...yet despite my own pain I have a great capacity to feel others pain...and to open my heart to help them through theirs..for that I am grateful...loving you...As always...XOXOXOXOXOX
ReplyDelete“She wrote that she wasn’t hiding… she was recreating herself.” Been there, and am there right now.
ReplyDelete“The challenge is to feel pain and then transcend it.” EGO is what we are seeking to transcend, and in so doing, pain can be healed. It reminded me of this scripture. “Great peace have they which love your law: and nothing shall offend them.” (Psalm 119:165) When I’m wounded, it’s usually the ego that’s hurt.
It is natural to hide when wounded. That’s exactly what I’ve been up to lately ;-) But I’m coming out of the shell. This is right on time Melissa, and could have been written solely for me. I will rise! Thank you, dear heart for this powerful, timely message. Love and blessings to you!
I made the mistake of getting rid of my pain too soon in the past. And they only built up inside. Now, I am guilty of lingering on my pain. Both are extremes. Both are not helpful. And I should learn to go halfway.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this beautiful message of recreating the soul, Melissa. This has blessed me today. :-)
Dear One ...
ReplyDeleteYou are tagged :)
http://myfriendshipsimran.blogspot.in/2012/03/awards-honor-and-tag.html
This was so beautiful. Pain is a constant companion,often subtle, but sometimes overpowering. It's a stern teacher doling out tough love faithfully. Sometimes I forget the sting of a lesson and then make the same silly mistake again, opening the door for that familiar pain to return...and re-teach me.
ReplyDeleteThis post was a good reminder for me to stay present and honest with myself. The "Define yourself" poem was perfect.
Sending love to you dear Melissa <3
Well, done!!! I especially like the poem and the admonition to rise up out of the pain and to define ourselves as how we deal with pain and what we become because of the pain. Very insightful and very true!
ReplyDeleteI love all that was expressed here. I never noticed before that I lean into the pain in my body but it is so true! Life is filled with so many joys and pains and we are always shifting gears and learning how to navigate landmines. What a beautiful way to remind us how to do it! You have a beautiful soul Melissa! Hugs!
ReplyDeletehttp://lyricfire.typepad.com/lyric-fire/2012/03/lyric-fire-creative-collaborations-what-ive-been-up-to.html
Dearest Mom,
ReplyDeleteyou've always been a beacon for me!
-Portia
Pain and pleasure are very close on the emotional level, some find pleasure in the pain without ever realizing it. We do need to be careful not to become addicted to it. I believe that the chines have a belief that we revel in pain because we think that god must be targeting us and therefore we are special!!
ReplyDeleteI really cannot ever believe that!!
Beautiful soul sis. To rise above the pain is not easy but we all learn to do that sometime or the other or else we tend to be stuck in a kind of time warp and never evolve. Love your heart my dear
ReplyDeleteSoul-sis, everything is good enough if we know how to survive, if we know it is not fatal even if depressing.
ReplyDeletei wish to conquer each pain but sometimes some prove to kill me inside, a the flight without a fight.
your post is very inspiring indeed. i have recreated once. i will continue recreating again and again rising above the power of depression, kissing each pain.
"When one is in pain, whether it be physical or emotional... the natural tendency of humans is to protect itself from it. We call it fight vs. flight. Face it or evade it."
ReplyDeleteNo more facing, i will just evade it. I will disconnect, its not worth it.
Pain can either make us self-centred or if we channelize it correctly used to improve ourselves to be more loving, giving and empathetic. As with everything else - the choice is ours! Fantastic post, Melissa.
ReplyDeletePain, they say is something that tells us something is wrong. I guess that when we are able to transcend it, we are able to reach out to what is right! It isn't the pain that defines us, it's the meaning we give to that pain or whatever it is we're going through. In Jesus' wounds, all pain becomes sacred and yields a deeper kind of joy, one that can never be taken away from us anymore. Be blessed! ;)
ReplyDeleteAs a nurse, I saw people who experienced every level of pain; physical, emotional, and mental. Some were able to grow as a result of their pain while others got trapped in a 'life of pain', never trying to emerge. You have written a genuine post, with genuine words. Thank you Melissa for this :)
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