9 Beautiful Things Your Life Is Disguising As Pain

1. That you are blind to what is ahead. You would not be led to the things you should be if you were to walk right to them, although that seems entirely counter-intuitive. Just take my word for it: it’s a great privilege to not know where you’ll end up, just where you’re headed. It’s the only way to get there.

2. That you still have consciousness, and you can control it. Sometimes it will seem like it brings nothing but suffering, but in many ways, you can control that by the way you think and what you pay attention to. So yes, consciousness is dismal at times, but you still have the ability to turn it around whenever you want.

3. That if you’re here, it’s not without reason. Even when your life feels absolutely worthless, I promise you, you are an integral part of the function of this existence, and you don’t have to beat yourself up about not realizing that. As David Foster Wallace implied, a fish doesn’t know it’s swimming in water.

4. Uncertainty. Be grateful that life doesn’t pamper you with consistent certainty; it would leave you ill-prepared for reality, that being: you never know what will happen next. You will be blindsided time and time again, and learning to adapt to what comes of uncertainty is a crucial survival tactic in life.

5. The mundane and the certain. When you do have certainty in your life, embrace it. Embrace that you don’t have to worry where your next meal is coming from. Love that you will get a paycheck at the end of the week, no matter what numbers are on it. Be grateful for the friends you do have, and the love you are given. Don’t let the certain and mundane become the source of your misery; let it feed you when you’re amidst the rest of the uncertainty.

6. Experiencing boredom. It means that you have had the same things in your life for long enough that you’re ungrateful and sick of them. The fact that you were given something for that long is wonderful, and I don’t think enough people think of it that way. So what if it doesn’t excite you all the time? Things are no less wonderful just because you’ve grown immune to their wonders.

7. Dissatisfaction and wanting change. It means there’s still something brewing inside you. There is still something that is crying out to be heard; you haven’t lost faith in yourself, and you’re still hoping. It means you love yourself enough to be upset when you aren’t treating yourself like it.

8. Someone unexplainably leaving your life. They are always making room for someone or something better, even if it’s just for them to return and you to have a newfound appreciation for them.

9. The trials you have and will continue to face. The greatest things always come after the most debilitating times in our lives. A happy life is a content life, a life of growth and discovery is a phenomenal one. Let yourself go up and down, don’t withhold yourself from all the experiences you’re bound to have: the good and the bad. They all have something to offer, and they all ensure that you walk away a little better, a little stronger and a little more peaceful than you did when you walked in.

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