A single-speaker YouTube talk encouraging people told they must "live with pain" to both accept that reality and intentionally cultivate compassion, courage, presence, love, and purpose. The speaker reframes chronic pain as a context in which one can practice heroic intention — focusing on moment-to-moment choices (breath, brief prayer, connection with others) to create dignity and meaning despite suffering.
So you've been told that you're going to have to live with pain now for the rest of your life. So take a deep breath and with as much kindness as possible, recognize that this is part of the truth. And there is also a parallel truth, which is that you have the capacity to focus on what is healing, what creates meaning, what creates benefit in your moment to moment life. Yes, it takes great courage, it takes great determination, and you need to dig really deep to find a place inside you that isn't going to collapse, that isn't going to go into despair, that isn't going to go into being a victim. But instead you're finding a place inside you that's saying and realizing, in spite of this pain, I am more than that and I am going to create as much as possible a sense of love and purpose and dignity and presence in my life. In fact, being in pain allows for the possibility of living the most courageous life. Because who wouldn't this be difficult for? Who wouldn't this be really the greatest challenge, having chronic pain be a part of your life. So give yourself a depth of compassion as much as you possibly can, that you're being faced with perhaps the greatest challenge any of us can face. And that therefore to even be able to focus yourself on your thoughts and guiding yourself and making the very best of this situation is a heroic intention. And of course, that's what your life is all about. This heroic intention now needs to be the definition of who you are in spite of the pain. I'm going to do everything I can to be present with the people around me, to be really looking, to open my heart as much as possible, to ask for help when I need it, and see if there's anything inside you that can feel for yourself. Oh, this is a really, really hard thing to be able to coexist with. But yet I'm going for it. I am going for it. So at the same time there's a sorrow, kind of a sweet sorrow, hopefully, that this is your lot. At the same time, there is a courage, a determination, a strength and a focus, an intelligence that's saying, love is why I'm alive, presence is why I'm alive. And it's bigger than just this pain, really reminding myself I want to be receptive to others. I want to be able to ask myself, what would be meaningful in the next minute and the next few seconds of my life? What would be meaningful? Would it be the quality of the way I say hello to the next person I meet? Would it be putting my hand on my heart? Would it be being in prayer or meditation? Would it be doing an activity with a friend? Just know that no matter what your diagnosis is that love is always the purpose of your life. You being the determinant person of what is going to have meaning in the next few seconds of your life is always the most important place to put your consciousness. So let yourself have a prayer right now. I am dedicated to the next few seconds of my life. And in those next few seconds I want to bring as much caring for the pain at one level and at another level, continue to inquire what would be creating the sense of well being as I breathe, as I look into these next moments of my life. And be grateful as much as possible to yourself that you found this wisdom, that you want to be present, that you are dedicated to be present no matter what the life circumstance is that you're facing, and that you're learning what most people don't ever learn, that you're learning how to be present, how to dedicate yourself to your heart and how to focus your life on purpose, meaning and really thriving in each moment.
