Comfort in Pain

Written By: Maham Shahbaz

Do you notice how everyone gives us signs of anxiety, happiness, love, grief, heart break…emotions? Do you see how an introvert kid tries to extend his hand forward to feel the rain fall on him? Do you notice how it’s all just prefect but then suddenly it’s just…not there? 

Do you notice the breaks in your breath when you think about things that make you forget your surroundings? Well, pain can do that. Do you see how when you feel that pain, everything in your body gets numb? As if it is all just trying to comfort you, to mask away all the disappointment? Or do you notice how a bright day gets dark when you lose all hope because now you do not have any escape from this pointless breathing…again and again and again, so tiring.

The problem with pain is comfort. The problem with comfort is pain. Oh but we all prefer comfort, we prefer living without any pain, but it never leaves. it’s like teaching a parrot to say “I am so happy and I cannot worry, life is short”, he will always repeat those words even if you burn down his house. He will say that standing in ashes. We humans, we are no different than that.

There are many things wrong with emotions. They are all connected in a very tightly woven net. It makes no sense. There is no logic behind it. Logic, another we crave for. We want things to make sense, the feelings, the things, the universe…it’s all so small? No you are just a particle in it, what do you matter?

You are no different than the people who lived years before you. They craved for the same things, they struggled the same as we do, and they felt pain just like we do. Why it is that everyone thinks that they are different? Their scenario is unique? It’s never. Oh but we think we are different and we are in a different situation and we assume ourselves at the top of the mountain when we should have assumed ourselves to be there on the ground with others, because actually we stand down below, lower than where we never imagine ourselves. Because it brings us pain so we don’t think of it.

The answer lies in perspective of view because not everyone has the same perspective of view. Even if I speak literally, you can never have the same view as the other person. You can never see yourself from another person’s perspective so we just listen to the words, the view they describe and we imagine ourselves on top of the mountain. Oh but words? Words are just hollow structures; they are figments of what we feel at that particular moment. The real thing is the action and effort but we are so distracted by the beautiful figments of structures, so breathtaking that we forget all reason and that’s when we imagine our selves at a very high place.

The thing about imagination is its beauty and surrealism and sadly its betrayal because it goes away in a second knocking you down. So you blame reality but reality did nothing wrong, you chose imagination, beautiful words. Do you see now? How everything comes down to emotion? Do you now notice the signs you gave earlier? Do you now see how the beautiful breathtaking structure just vanished, the perfection that was there is not anymore?  Do you see now how surrealism leads to comfort?  The problem with humans is pain and the problem with it is comfort and the problem with comfort is love, that’s not it. do you notice how love comes with pain? Do you notice now how you are breathing? Do you notice now how it keeps on breaking off? Do you notice now how you suddenly crave for air? Do you see how pain is so much more powerful? Do you now notice all that you chose to ignore? Lucky you are then, if you succeed to ignore it.