Originally posted on Facebook HERE

Pain affects everything. Whether it’s mental or physical, if you’re dealing with pain — it tends to take over everything…

I’ve been dealing with knee and leg pain for about two months now. My left leg is sore enough that I really haven’t been able to workout at all. No weight lifting. Very little yoga. Certainly no running. Even walking hurts. Pretty sure it’s a torn meniscus, I have an MRI scheduled for Tuesday that should finally give me a definitive answer on that.

In the meantime — my sleep — which isn’t all that great anyway — has certainly suffered. I get maybe 4–5 hours a night. And it’s restless because of the pain in that leg, which gets worse when I’m laying down. Not getting enough sleep is never a good thing. We all know what it feels like. Makes you tired and cranky. And if you’re already cranky to begin with, well… it’s a bad combination…

And then, over time — it starts to affect your mental state, right? Frustration, anger, and anxiety get a little closer to the surface. You start to wonder if it’ll ever get better at all.

And, for me — I always try to look at any situation like this with the attitude that “everything always works out for me”, right? Well, when you’re in physical or mental pain (or both) it can be hard to see how this could possibly be the case. How could this pain be something that will benefit me in the long run? While you’re in it it’s never easy to see…

But in my life, the periods of most pain have always led to the periods of the most gain.

I needed to poison myself for fifteen years with drugs and alcohol to the point where I seriously wondered if I wanted to live at all to really understand the power of just waking up sober every day.

I needed to let myself go and get my weight up to 195 pounds at one point in my life to realize the importance of being healthy and keeping my weight under 185. Anything over that and my asthma gets worse, I have to use my inhaler more, and I start to feel sluggish not just physically, but mentally as well…

And the pain of loss. My father’s passing. My mother’s passing. Relationships ending. All the dogs I’ve lost… very painful. Life is temporary. Everything in life is temporary. And it’s up to us to determine how we will live with that knowledge once life hands us a severe loss. I’ve seen losses like these affect people’s lives forever from that point on. Kind of hard not to in many cases.

“No pain, no gain” is a popular saying. It’s used mostly in physical activities like weight lifting, but really… pain is often a pathway to a new understanding about who we are and how we should live.

I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have chronic physical pain. I’d really be questioning what the benefit would be. I’m already looking at my issue and wondering — you know, how will this resolve? Will I ever be able to run again? I’ll tell you what, if I get to the point where I can run pain free I’ll never take running for granted again. Heck — just walking pain free would be a blessing at this point.

So, today I look forward to addressing this challenge life has given me. I will find a benefit in it. I always do. Every pain brings the potential of an equal or greater gain if we’ll just look for it. And while we’re in it, it will never seem possible. Your mind will tell you to give up, that life sucks and then you die. You certainly could listen to that voice as well… but why?…

Always seek to find the hidden benefit no matter what you’re dealing with. It can take time, sometimes years even… but it’s there if you look for it.

As always, I wish you well on your journey today. Hit everything and everyone with as much love as you can. Helping others is a great way to help ourselves as well.