Wednesday Wisdom: Visiting Pain, Others’ Calamities, & The Desire for Suffering
March 6, 2024's Wisdom
Welcome to Wednesday Wisdom, our 3x3 Newsletter where I distill worldly advice for better living by presenting three quotes, three observations, and three questions.
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Visiting Pain
🤨 Quote
“What if pain -- like love -- is just a place brave people visit? What if both requires presence, staying on your mat, and being still? If this is true, then maybe instead of resisting pain, I need to resist the easy buttons. Maybe my reliance on numbing is keeping me from the two things I was born for: learning and loving.”
Glennon Doyle
Source: Love Warrior
Observation 🧐
More often than not, we run from pain. One of our natural inclinations is to run from pain and pursue pleasure.
The paradox of this, however, is that sometimes the pursuit of pleasure—especially too much pleasure—can lead us directly into pain, whereas the pursuit of pain or discomfort, when performed in appropriate amounts, can actually elevate us through grit, determination, and persistence.
Louis Zamperini, the World War II prisoner of war and subject of the book Unbroken, spent the majority of his life pushing through pain and difficult times by holding close to his heart something his older brother Pete used to tell him:
"Isn't one minute of pain worth a lifetime of glory?"
There are times to quit and times to persevere. Life is about determining where this line is. While some general guidance can assist, no one person is the same. Therefore, finding that sweet spot is dependent upon the individual knowing themselves and finding the appropriate threshold.
🤔 Question
Have you determined where your threshold is? What will you do this week to better learn where the appropriate balance between pleasure and pain is for yourself?
Others’ Calamities
🤨 Quote
“Nothing is easier than to bear other people's calamities with fortitude.”
W. Somerset Maugham
Source: The Razor’s Edge
Observation 🧐
How often are we able to provide great guidance to a friend of colleague in need of assistance but struggle to make the right decisions for our own dilemmas?
When helping another, we have distance from the situation—we’re not fully invested emotionally in the circumstance they are looking for guidance on and therefore can provide feedback from a distance, taking in the entirety of the picture from afar.