A lady loses her mom to late detection of cancer and then decides to spend the rest of her life fighting for funding for early cancer detection and treatment. A man loses his son to drunk driving and then resigns from his job to lobby and advocate for safe driving on our roads. A housewife is able to leave her marriage of many years where she endured constant abuse and then opens a shelter where women facing abuse from men can seek refuge.
In life, we all go through pain at different times. Some experience it more than the other, but none is immune to it. Some have developed an inbuilt capacity to numb it, endure it, and just move on in life. While others address the source of pain and confront it.
Sometimes, lifelong careers are borne out of painful experiences. This is when passion is borne out of pain. A point where we decide that no one else should go through what we’ve gone through ourselves. And because we faced those painful situations directly, we have built some sort of knowledge and expertise in it, even if we are not aware.
A lot of times, we descend into the pit of blame, depression, agony, and self-rejection. Don’t get me wrong, no one wants to experience pain, and what you went through were very hurtful, painful and agonizing.
But I do believe that passion is often borne out of pain. This is that state in which we chose that enough is enough. From our knowledge and experience of this pain, we can help and empower many others not to experience the same pain we did. And through that journey, we often find healing for ourselves.
Pain is never a pleasant experience. But at the end of the tunnel, light can and indeed will show forth. Do something with your pain today. Empower others with it by ensuring no one goes through what you did. Some cope with pain by ignoring its existence, but only when we confront it can we truly release ourselves from its grip and shackles.
Passion can indeed be borne out of pain.