Growing

The wound is the place where the light enters you. – Rumi

Pain is an inevitable companion, shaping us in ways we only come to understand with time.

But what is pain, really? A sensation, a feeling, a state of being?

For many, pain is a reminder of our humanity. It’s a signal that we’re alive, that we’re capable of feeling and learning. It's a tree reminds us to respect boundaries when we fall from it and get hurt, a bruise that shows us the power of the reward balance in our first bike ride. Small moments, lessons that leave marks not only on our skin but also on our minds and that we carry forward.

Pain evolves as we grow. It transforms from scraped knees and bruised elbows into more intangible wounds—broken friendships, missed opportunities, or unspoken words. These deeper pains cut into our hearts, teaching us lessons that cannot be learned in any other way.

It’s force of transformation. As Kahlil Gibran wrote, “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” A fight with a friend, for instance, might sting, but it teaches us about trust and the fragility of relationships. Similarly, failure doesn't just hurt—it becomes a stepping stone toward resilience and growth.

In many ways, pain, acts as a guide. It carries vital information, grounding us in reality. The trees you fell from and the bike that threw you off remind you of what’s real.

Pain plants the seeds of growth within us, and those seeds eventually become the branches that support us, offering new and stronger perspectives as we move forward.

So, when the inevitable companion comes knocking, perhaps we can learn to welcome it—not with fear, but with the curiosity of someone ready to learn. After all, the stories we carry are shaped as much by our joys as by the lessons etched in pain.