Guest guest Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 Today's DailyOM brought to you by: May 15, 2008 When Pain Comes Our Way Honoring All Experiences Honoring the experiences we have in our lives is an invaluable way to communicate with life, our greatest teacher. We do this when we take time at night to say what we are thankful for about our day and also when we write in a journal. Both of these acts involve consciously acknowledging the events of our lives so that they deepen our relationship to our experiences. This is important because it brings us into closer connection with life, and with the moment. Only when we acknowledge what’s happening to us can we truly benefit from life’s teachings. It is especially important when pain comes our way to honor the experience, because our natural tendency is to push it away and move past it as quickly as possible. We tend to want to brush it under the rug. Yet, if we don’t, it reveals itself to be a great friend and teacher. As counterintuitive as it seems, we can honor pain by thanking it and by welcoming it into the space of our lives. We all know that often the more we resist something, the longer it persists. When we honor our pain, we do just the opposite of resisting it, and as a result, we create a world in which we can own the fullness of what life has to offer. We can honor a painful experience by marking it in some way, bringing ourselves into a more conscious relationship with it. We might mark it by creating a work of art, performing a ritual, or undertaking some other significant act. Sometimes all we need to do is light a candle in honor of what we’ve gone through and what we’ve learned. No matter how small the gesture, it will be big enough to mark the ways in which our pain has transformed us, and to remind us to recognize and value all that comes our way in this life. The first DailyOM Book is here! Click here to receive over 70 free gifts when you buy the book What do you think? Discuss this article and share your opinion Want more DailyOM? Register for your free email, or browse all articles Share the OM: Email this to a friend Printable version Save in My DailyOM Discuss this article From the Library: The Diamond Cutter by Geshe Michael Roach More DailyOM: Browse the Library Today's Horoscopes Shop the Marketplace Join the Community Home | Gift Shop | My DailyOM | Marketplace | Community | Archives | Share The OM | Contact Us Subscribe | Change Email | User Settings | Un | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Gift Shop FAQ | Advertising Info Make DailyOM Your Homepage | Link To Us | Publish DailyOM On Your Website © 2004-08 DailyOM - No portion of this site can be reprinted without express permission Artwork by Wang Chang-Ming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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