“If the whole world was blue, there would be no blue. We need something that is not blue to understand blue.” | Eckhart Tolle (paraphrased)
The more the pain and chaos, the more we learn to appreciate those moments of joy and calm. Joy, however, is different from happiness. Joy is a feeling while happiness is an ability.
Pain and chaos are just feelings. They are a part of this marvellous piece of engineering we call life. Like all feelings, they can be understood, accepted, and embraced. Understanding comes with self awareness, accepting comes with proactivity, and the embracing comes with wisdom. Rafael Nadal plays through pain every single time he steps into a tennis court. He’s a great athlete but an even greater role model simply because he’s learnt to embrace the pain.
The pain and the chaos are just part of the infinite game. We just have to learn to play it, to celebrate the wins, to learn from the defeats, and move the hell on. Can’t change the waves but can learn how to surf.
Let me say that again – pain and chaos are just feelings that can be accepted and embraced. Happiness is a skill we develop that we can apply even during the worst of times. The moment we learn to make that distinction, life will never be the same again..
A Learning a Day 