The Purpose Of Pain And Injury

Being in pain and getting injured sucks.

I know because I've been there many times. Especially as an athlete, it can feel like your entire world is collapsing because you're unable to do and be what you've wrapped so much of your identity into.

Because of this, it's easy to fall into the victim archetype and perpetuate the feelings of despair and powerlessness.

But I've learned that pain has a very important function -- it can be the greatest teacher and even a catalyst that moves you into a deeper sense of purpose and meaning in your life.

Of course there's the surface level of pain that's inviting you not to keep doing what's causing the pain -- i.e. the stove is hot so I shouldn't keep putting my hand there.

In my experience, however, pain and injury almost always have multiple levels. The physical experience of the pain is just the surface level that's usually the manifestation of imbalances occurring at a mental, emotional, or even spiritual level. In this way, the pain becomes an opportunity for you to peel back the layers to discover the root cause. Pain then becomes your teacher and your guide to accessing, awakening, and realizing deeper and higher levels of yourself.

The only caveat is that it's up to you to choose to see it that way.

As you invite the Pain Teacher into your life, you're ultimately initiating yourself onto a path of self-actualization. If you simply do just what you think is necessary to 'treat' the injury and make the pain go away without taking the steps to identify the root cause, inevitably the next weakest link will give way and the cycle of pain and injury will continue.

This journey of working with the Pain Teacher will likely lead you through a Dark Night of The Soul (or two or three), where your whole sense of self if uprooted and you feel lost, helpless, and hopeless in the free fall of a bottomless abyss. And as much as it sucks, this is exactly what is happening FOR YOU to help you become who you have the potential to be.

I honestly don't think I would be here if it wasn't for the injuries and pain I experienced that completely railroaded where I thought my life was supposed to be headed.

Sometimes your soul whispers to quietly nudge you in the right direction. Sometimes your soul needs to shout to finally get your attention.

If you currently find yourself in this situation, my invitation is to firstly just sit with it and embrace the is-ness of what's happening FOR YOU. Resistance to what is only prolongs the healing process.

Once you've embraced your current reality, lean into it to see what lessons are there to be learned. If you quiet yourself enough to listen the answers are always there.

This your opportunity to become all that you're meant to become; but first you have to let go of who you think you're supposed to be.

You can check out this recent video I made if you want to see my beautiful face and take a little deeper dive into this topic.

I hope this helps.

With love,

Nathan Barna