Pain is a gift.

It lets you know something is in need of attention.

It tells you to slow down, get present, and consider the choices you are making.

Pain is inexorably linked with spiritual healing processes. You can't have one without the other.

That is why spirituality — truth — is not for the feint of heart. First darkness, then light.

Because pain is an unpleasant experience, we tend to try and medicate it away, or treat it as a problem to be solved. Certainly, there are forms of it where we need to do just that.

If you find yourself in a dark night of the soul, recently separated, in between jobs, and the like, you do yourself a disservice to try and remove the uncomfortable feelings being visited upon you.

Transitory states, like the caterpillar becoming a butterfly, are the most painful and uncomfortable. This is when we most go seeking help from the outside.

What would you tell the caterpillar if it got to complaining? You'd tell it to be patient. You'd tell it to relax. You'd let it know everything is alright and nothing needs doing.

It is no different with us.

To feel your pain is to embrace your humanity and dignity. It is what will guide you to the next step, and the one after that. Follow it, as you would a light.