Embracing hard times as a crucible for growth

Reflecting upon my own life I noticed that the biggest jumps in personal growth and changes of perspective happened after I overcame a hard time and I started to consider the idea that maybe all the pain in our life can be worth it, if we can endure and use it in our favor of course.

Life is suffering, movement and change

Since the beginning of time humans have struggled with life itself, and we built tools and ideals to live by, but regardless of what topic we study few truths remain constant: Life hurts, if you don't evolve you die and you have to keep moving. Easier said than done, but stay with me, I'll try to prove it's all worth it.

But how? how can this pain I feel be good in any way? when every breath I take feels like a knife trough my heart

First we must acknowledge that we are broken, that we have been torn to pieces by the situation we are going trough and we need to do something. This is actually good, It's hard to see it when you are drowning in emotions but being broken means we can take the pieces and put them back together in a new way. Most of us go trough life every day without questioning why we do the things we do, or what do we want in our lifes, It's easier to stay bussy than to stop for a moment and reflect about our lifes and there is no better time for reflection than this.

When we are broken we open ourselves to new ideas, new perspectives and we ask the right questions.

There is a Japanese art called Kintsugi which consists on reparing broken pottery using gold or other precious metals, making the pieces unique and more beautiful than they were before. We should see ourselves as the broken pottery, not "without repair" but as a piece of art in progress.

Don't deny your feelings, don't try to escape from them or they will come back stronger in the future. You might be tempted to try to put yourself back together as you were before, to regain the life you had, that is impossible, and if you try to do it you will just waste all the pain you went trough. Process what you are going trough and re invent yourself, you will see life with new eyes and a new you will emerge from the ashes if you can turn this adversity into an oportunity. Look at you as what you are, a piece of art, because when you overcome your difficulties I guarantee you that you will be more beautiful than you currently are.