Did You Know Your Suffering Makes You Beautiful?

The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Have you ever noticed this about people? Maybe you know someone who has struggled with an illness or has lost a loved one or who has experienced some other kind of hardship. There’s something different about them isn’t there? They might not see it in themselves but we pick up on the energy shift that has occurred in them.

No one likes to suffer or be in pain and yet you will find that these are always the moments that grow us the most. In fact, I am the most grateful for the painful moments I’ve experienced in life because they’ve made me who I am today and without them, I may not have grown or evolved as a person.

Try this exercise.

When something bad is happening to you take a moment and just recognize the pain that you feel. Feel the sadness. Feel the grief. Feel the loneliness, the emptiness, the hole inside of you. Sit with it. Let it wash over you. Breathe it in. Feel it in every part of your body.  I know it may seem counter-intuitive to do this and I know I’ve shared this advice before in the 3rd secret, but if you try to ignore the pain, it hangs on even harder and stronger and you remain stuck with it longer.

Once you have sat with your pain, let it go. Tell it that you’re letting it go. Wish it well. Bless it on it’s journey. In fact, you can actually and physically take one big step forward and imagine yourself leaving the pain behind you. But make sure to look over your shoulder and tell it that you’re done with it.  Don’t give it the opportunity to come back. Say goodbye and mean it. Thank it for opening you up to a new you.

The pain will be gone but the wound will still be there and may take awhile to heal. You will notice, however,  that even while your wound is healing, that your scar actually becomes a beautiful thing. It represents who you were, where you were and where you’re going.

Your suffering actually makes you beautiful.