English Paper on Painful Experiences and how I Overcame Them
My past is full of a fair share of both physical and emotional pain. While it feels awful at the time, physical pain fades away after a short while. Emotional pain, on the other hand, is so intense that it is associated with other symptoms (Cohen 12). Even after the cause of emotional pain is gone, it still hurts the heart. It remains for relatively long time and may pop up during nightmares. Emotional pain brings darkness to a bright day making you shed tears. In this paper, I am going to describe two events that hurt me most, both emotionally and physically. Moreover, I am going to highlight the strategies I employed in overcoming the pains in order to make it acceptable to me.
I remain the same person but my most hurting moments made me learn some lessons. The pain came at the same time from all directions and affected every aspect of my life. During my first year in college, I got too ill to do anything by myself. Being an independent person who does virtually everything on my own, the illness broke me and I had to seek help from my colleagues. I became depressed as I could not do the part-time job that supported my stay in college. In the process of seeking mediation, I became so depressed and missed classes for a whole week. However, I realized that success in life depends on how well someone is able to overcome the pain (Cohen 23). I took full responsibility for my life knowing that no one was going to figure out things for me. Although I do not like asking for help, I learned to get along with it.
The next painful day, I found myself in deep waters and swimming against the current was a nightmare for me. I tried so hard with all the energy to save my life. Something ran into my mind and I whispered to myself that the same kind of thinking that landed me into the situation will not help me overcome it. Certainly, I had to think in a different way and to try things differently. Somehow, I managed to keep myself float and eventually the currents washed me away to the shores. The peace and excitement that came with it is incredible. In fact, my entire world changed that I stayed alive. The new life that I led thereafter was amazing. Being able to endure the extreme pain, I became a completely different person living a more fulfilling life than before (Cohen 54). I discovered that life has its own course and that it always interferes with the status quo and your plans.
In conclusion, every pain whether emotional or physical is meant to make you a better person. What matters is your willingness to change in order to go through the full cycle. At a personal level, the pains helped me to become more optimistic, kind, generous and honest. Furthermore, I learnt that people will often get into your life for a season, reason or for lifetime. It is upon you to distinguish them and to learn the true ones (Cohen 72). Undoubtedly, painful moments serve as revelations but only those who are able to interpret them in that manner. In a nutshell, success depends on how well you are able to bounce back and start over again better and stronger. Not how well you are able to escape mistakes or troubles.
Works Cited
Cohen, Darlene. Turning Suffering Inside Out: A Zen Approach to Living with Physical and Emotional Pain. Boston, Mass: Shambhala, 2002. Print.