Understanding Difficult Events - No Pain, No Gain

Have you ever questioned why you went through a difficult situation in your life? Most of us consider that such events are bad luck. However, I would like to offer an alte ative approach to understanding obstacles. To keep your physical body in shape, what have you found most beneficial? Do you work out with weights? The resistance of the weight causes your muscles to build, making you more fit, does it not? In addition, have you discovered the process to be hard and painful? The catchphrase, "No pain, no gain" is an exercise motto that describes the process of working out and experiencing muscle aches repeatedly in order to gain muscle. Could you apply the same analogy for maintaining your spiritual being? I will use my life as an example. I endured a great deal during my life, including a childhood rape, inappropriate sexual contact from an alcoholic father, growing up in a dysfunctional family, being stalked and pursued by others and dealing with numerous debilitating illnesses. To tell you the truth, it was not, by any means fun. In fact, it was downright painful. However, even though I went through a lot of suffering, I did survive and eventually, grew. In weight-lifting terms, without my pain, there was no gain. Many people, looking at my life from the outside, have stated to me that they think the events in my life were so horrific that they could not believe that I could write about my experiences. However, despite other's concern, I have indeed written about my experiences and the healing from them. Why would I do this? It is because I have grown to a deeper appreciation of those trials. Had it not been for those challenges, I would not have the opportunity to learn that a person could not only survive such adversity, but can also be happy despite such events. In addition, because of those tribulations, my spiritual being has been enhanced, as I have come to rely on the spirit more fully, in the form of heightened intuition. Since I am happy, I feel it is appropriate to share my story with others in similar situations. Had my life been different, with no adversity, I would not be able to reveal to others my healing from such hardships. Without the trying times I went through, I would not be where I am at today. Therefore, the 'No pain, no gain' philosophy applies to my spiritual well-being, as difficulties in my life were necessary for my spiritual ascension. More importantly, by communicating my story, I have been allowed a chance to help others with their own spiritual climb. Copyright Statement: This article was written by Cindy L. Herb and may be reproduced on any related website provided the text is not changed in any form and this copyright statement is displayed unedited in its entirety at the foot of the article and you use the exact same HTML code to ensure a clickable link back to the author's site. Further articles are also available. Contact the author for more information. Copyright 2009 Cindy L. Herb, http://www.cherbchronicles.com. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.