The Key to Pain and Pleasure is Perspective

in #life6 years ago

When I was around 10 years young, my parents and two of my younger siblings went to tour a home that a construction crew was building.

This particular home was mostly finished on the outside, but the inside needed insulation and wiring yet.

Being the inquisitive individual I am, I explored the remnants of items that littered the construction site. One particular piece that caught my eye was insulation that had been cut. I had never seen insulation out of the bag before and thus I picked it up to ease my curiosity. Little did I know that a swarm of yellow jackets were about to engulf me and my younger siblings.

My parents acted quickly as they heard our screams of pain and ushered us into the safety of our vehicle. At first, they were cognizant only of our pain, but as the cries of their babies continued, they began to laugh at the situation.

Thankfully, none of the Sipe kids are allergic to bee stings and so the entire scenario turned comical because from the perspective of my parents, all that crying just sounded funny.

What were they to do at the time? Their kids were safe and when the only thing that could solve our crying was time, you learn to find joy in the pain. You see, the key to pain and pleasure is perspective.

There is a verse in the Bible that speaks directly to this principle and it is one that I have meditated on for years.

”“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:2-3‬ ‭NASB‬‬

I don’t know about you, but most of the time when I encounter pain or trials, joy is not the first thing my mind seeks to multiply.

Yet, when you think about the perspective of my parents or any of us who are on the other side of our circumstance, we realize how fortunate we were to have that pain.

None of us grows by being lethargic or lazy - every skill we harness and make our own was built through trial and error. Every bee sting we received taught us not to mess around the home of a happy bee clan.

The joy we find amidst all that pain is precisely because of the perspective of being on the other side of that pain.

We are all in trials of various kinds. A wise man once told me that we are either leaving a trial or entering one. The choice for each of us, is how long we want to stay in any particular circumstance and how capable we want to be for the next one.


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Rejoicing through a painful situation is hard work. It does NOT come naturally at all.

Being swarmed by bees or hornets has always been one of those things I've wondered about - how would i handle it? I worked with a nurse who was seriously wounded by a swarm - she had 110 stingers still in her. I can't imagine going through that torment. She was okay but it's still dangerous to have that much poison in the body.

I'm glad you kids were okay. I wonder if your parents laughed the nervous laugh we laugh instead of crying? Those are the best bc it does help the situation. Like you said.

she had 110 stingers still in her.

My word, that sounds awful. Thankful she was ok.

From what my mother says, once her and my dad realized we were ok and only crying because it hurt, the constant crying sounded kind of funny.

lol....they sound like John. He laughs when I get hurt. Why? I think for him it's nervous laughter....that's what I tell myself anyhow. But, I do the same to him.

He is forever leaving the cupboard doors open when putting dishes away and doesn't pay attention to the top ones being open...and the other day he gave himself a good knock on the beam....lol....I was cry laughing. :)

Always at some point in our lives we are subjected to a swarm of bees and therefore some may sting us. So I remember that by presenting, for example, the final thesis of my doctoral degree, one feels in that situation. After those moments of anguish comes the happiness of having fulfilled. That's what your post @lydon.sipe reminded me of. Receive an affectionate hug.

That is an inspiring word. Thank you, Felix!

Your parents' laughter reminded me of the time when my eleven yr old sister in law took my toddler, Jen, out to play. After some time passed, I was worried and went to check on them - nowhere to be found. My father in law downplayed the situation thinking I was being overly concerned - but after an hour I was ready to phone the police. My father in law insisted we check the playground again and he found then asleep inside one of those plastic tubes! All the way home, I was laughing - it wasn't funny, but I was laughing.

All the way home, I was laughing - it wasn't funny, but I was laughing.

Haha, yes, we have those moments. Funny how The Lord reminds us whose kids we are raising.

Such a very motivating post. I do agree, we should never see our trials as a way of giving up. Instead we should always think of what we can become facing those trials. Trials are made to make us strong so we should face it because when its done we will become stronger.

Instead we should always think of what we can become facing those trials.

Amen to that! There is always more to learn.

Yes it seems that perspective is one of the most valuable tools of life!

Pain is a tough row to hoe...

Yet scripture strongly suggests that we are privileged to experience it. I suppose one day we'll look back and appreciate what we're going through now...

😄😇😄

@creatr

Yet scripture strongly suggests that we are privileged to experience it.

And that is a tough pill to swallow. Praise the Lord that all of our questions have an answer in Him!

Thank you for sharing @lydon.sipe
childhood years. And the memories we pass through these years, when we want to be happy, in a corner of our mind, from where we hid and hug.

You got a 2.25% upvote from @upme thanks to @lydon.sipe! Send at least 3 SBD or 3 STEEM to get upvote for next round. Delegate STEEM POWER and start earning 100% daily payouts ( no commission ).

its all about that little perspective in the situation we are in and the presence of mind :)

Great post bro....very motivating

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