Pain is the Only Way Out

Ourselves, Charlotte Mason Volume 4 ( Part I:The House Of The Body); Chapter 5- The Pages Of The Body: The Five Senses

“Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself.”
C.S. Lewis

I don’t know about you, but I hate pain. Pain and I aren’t friends. Have I mentioned that I do not like pain?

That said, there isn’t anything truly great that’s ever been achieved without the discomfort of discipline. Our tastes, both literally and symbolically, can only be cultivated with intentional, disciplined effort. It’s easy to judge a book by its cover and miss the depth of thought inside. We might turn up our noses at certain authors, composers, or artists simply because we’re afraid our tastes aren’t refined enough to recognise what’s good or beautiful.

But can we really trust our judgment if we haven’t done the work? Can we even identify what’s wrong if we’ve never studied what’s right? Or are we just copying other people’s boundaries, boundaries that were made to fight battles that were never ours?

Can we rely on our own senses? And even if we could, do we pay enough attention to truly rely on them?

Can you describe, in detail, something you saw today? Maybe the sky, the landscape, a neighbour’s car, or a bird on a ledge. Do you remember the sound of the wind that hints at oncoming rain? Can you smell the storm before the first drops fall? Could you pick out the voice of your favourite preacher in a crowd? Or your favourite singer? For the composer you claim to love, would you recognise his music anywhere?

Are you truly present?

We can only rely on our senses if we train them to be present. We can learn to identify birdsong. We can learn to pay attention, so that next time someone asks us to close our eyes and say how many hats were in the room, we won’t need to cheat.

Wishing you a week where you're present in every moment.

Best Regards,

Olufunmike