The lesson and teacher

 In this plane of existence, very little is guaranteed to us. We have been allocated so little entitlement to anything at all. You are constantly being reminded that you are privileged to have anything at all, even the breath of life itself. Nothing is deservedly yours, humility dictates that you are lucky to have what you do and you must acknowledge it. I wonder if we should extend the same mentality to pain. Is pain an emotion? Is it a state? To exist is synonymous with agony.

There's the pain of uncertainty. A torment of relinquishing control. The suffering that accompanies the knowledge that no matter how careful and controlled you are, you cannot be sure an outcome will be in your favour. You may go through all the details to ensure the plan is failproof only to be betrayed by a circumstance or run out of luck. There's the pain of discipline. The suffering that comes along with realizing that you are both the marble and the sculptor and that you must chisel away at yourself in order to become your desired final form.

There's the pain of regret, not having utilised a chance or taking a course of action whose consequences are dire and having to face them. The agony of knowing that things could have been better had you or had you not done something. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That pain of having to acknowledge that you mishandled a situation when it was in your hands and now it's beyond you and you have to deal with whatever comes your way. The pain of having to let go of memories, expectations and people. Having to confer them to the past, having to remember them for longer than you have known them. 

Pain is an unequitable feeling. Physical injuries manifest themselves clearly and can be seen. You have a hurt foot, you walk with a limp. You have a hurt tooth, you chew with a wince. Physical pain mostly alleviates naturally or biologically, I don't know if I can say the same about the mental and sentimental suffering though. You have to go through so many intrinsic processes in order to solve it. Sometimes you have to forgive yourself or others for causing it. Sometimes you watch it come and go and never get used to it tearing you apart. You sometimes get yourself carrying it around everywhere. In the saddest cases sometimes it's the only sentiment that is familiar to you and you find it anytime you look at anything.

There is a cyclic nature to everything. There are no constants, in order to experience light you must have experienced darkness. In order to experience happiness you must acknowledge the existence of pain and sadness. It's a deplorable reality but a fair one in a twisted kind of way. The pain of uncertainty is requited by the joy of success despite it. The pain of discipline is rewarded by discipline itself. The pain of regret rewarded by reflection and learning. The pain of letting go is rewarded by harmony. Pain happens to be a great teacher and a great lesson.