Pain

Never, for any reason on earth, could you wish for an increase of pain. Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes, no heroes, he thought over and over as he writhed on the floor, clutching uselessly at his disabled left arm."
-Chapter 3 Section 1 of 1984

I was on line at wikipedia.com just going through the quote section and there it was my favorite quote out of the book 1984. When I first read the book (as well as the second and third time) this quote always stuck out to me. Stuck out so much that it made me laugh. Now does this mean I have a morbid sense of humor, at times, yeah. Yet, when I look over the last few months, I said over and over again that I wanted this pain to stop. To think , I call my self independent , strong will , and free spirited but pain ,like Winston holding his arm, is disabling. However it takes a lot to move from the pain or embrace the pain to allow it to transform you.
The transformation either good or bad is what the cliché saying what doesnt kill you makes you stronger could originate from. I dont agree with the cliché , but I can understand the point its trying to make. Why, I dont agree with the saying is that sometimes pain doesnt bring strength sometimes it brings a new light to a person. A once happy and energetic person could become cautious and cynical, now does that equate strength. I guess it could depend on what a persons understanding of the word strength is. Thats the unpredictable thing about clichés the meanings do not transform or define all situations in the sense that stereotypes do not accurately describe people/race.
All of the pain that occurs in life , it would be wrong of me to state there has not been any positive changes or a new insight to my life. On the other hand , I needed to voice that the positive notion is not always the true notion . Not everyone is going to follow lead and grow for the best from every negative outcome, yet that is the preconceived notion thats thrown around especially in American culture. Its your right to buck up and move one to quit dwelling and move on yet no one tells people how to engage pain or educate people that pain is a natural part of life. Yes, everyone goes a painful part of life but it dose not make anyone weak instead it evokes change.
Which is why, in the face of pain there are no heroes? Keep this in mind the next time a painful situation arises that each of us are not alone in being the victim to pain however how we allow this pain to mold our life, that is a different story.