Pain and meaninglessness
Pain is the body’s way of reminding us that we are living our best life.
Pain and lack of meaning are definitely two different and distinct experiences, so much so that they might as well be called complete opposites.
Pain is a manifestation of life in all its glory; it’s tangible and deeply felt, whereas a lack of meaningfulness typically implies something is stagnant and stuck without purpose. Pain is like a stern warning from the universe to take action, whereas the absence of meaning can make one feel like they've lost their place in the world. Pain may hurt, but at least it lets you know you're alive - a lack of meaning altogether could be worse than death.
I am in a rut and my struggle of late, I came to senses that my path is somewhat in a blur and I find myself unable to see the reasons on why I do what I do, why I chase pain and understand myself and my place in this tiny part of the universe. This is where my thoughts in this writing is coming from. I am parsing each aspect of my current state - trying to debug each little aspect of my experience.
Pain is the body’s way of reminding us that we are living our best life.
Pain lets us know when something isn’t right and encourages us to take necessary steps to ensure our health and safety. Pain can be overly uncomfortable at times, but it also serves as a reminder that feeling something is much better than not feeling anything at all — even if it feels like the worst thing in the world. Pain signals that we are still alive; it is a reminder of our strength and tenacity, helping us push through difficult situations and find ways to keep on going. Pain may hurt, but we should be grateful for it, because at least we know we're alive!
If meaninglessness was an actual state of being, it would be far worse than death because at least with death, one can leave behind a legacy or meaning.
Sure, the meaning itself might not stay around for eternity, but it does exist for a time. With meaninglessness however, there would be nothing to cling on to and you'd remain listless until the end of your days. It'd be the most lonesome feeling in the world; worse still it wouldn't include a grand finale – just a continuing level of nothingness that you'd have no way out of. We may not always know what our current meaning should be in life but knowing that meaninglessness is an impossibility makes us grateful for even the smallest hint of meaning.
From birth, all of us are set adrift on a sea of meaninglessness - trying to find whatever meaning and purpose our lives might contain.
We each construct our own unique vessels out of whatever materials we happen upon and embark upon an often painfully unpredictable journey in search of answers. While many don't find what they seek, there is still a certain comfort and beauty that comes from floating between the pain and meaninglessness by surrounding ourselves with love, family, friends, beliefs, faiths, causes and stories that move us. It may be hard to accept at times but this fly-by-night existence can often offer more meaning than any single destination would - leaving us quite content simply by threading between the pain and meaninglessness of this life.
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