Pleasure and pain are two sides of the same coin. We can experience each of them on many different levels. Both help us know the direction our lives are taking, particularly when we are tuned in to the emotions we feel. Most of us would like to remain in the pleasurable moments, although they are not permanent. Pleasurable moments make us happy and perhaps even joyous. We feel capable, strong, likeable, and light. We may feel we can conquer the world. The more pleasure we experience, the more we want to continue experiencing it. If we work toward maintaining the basic pleasures we enjoy in our lives, or strive toward a greater degree of pleasure, we literally climb up an emotional ladder. We might move from contentment to optimism to enthusiasm to eagerness to happiness to passion to joy to empowerment to freedom to love. All very pleasurable states of being.
On the other hand, pain helps us understand what we don’t want, so we can seek out what we want. If I love to drive very fast and recklessly, and I run into a tree, I will probably decide I don’t like the pain I endure and the cost of repairs and increased insurance. I will likely consider modifying my behavior to avoid this pain. By doing so, I may loose the thrill of driving fast, but gain pleasure in being pain-free physically and financially. Pain is a condition that can help us learn lessons in life that will enable us to grow, expand in our understanding of ourselves, and move forward in our lives. It may not be pleasant, but can yield valuable information if we pay attention to it. It can shed light on what does not serve us well, so that we can make changes in our lives. Changing our behavior offers the opportunity to become a happier person.
Change is usually not easy and does not occur rapidly. It takes time to understand that our lives would be happier if we make a change. We must work on figuring out what to change and then how to change it. We must frequently be conscious of our goal to change, and the end result we want to achieve. If we can see the benefits of change, that helps us to stay on the path. When we see we are climbing the emotional ladder, that gives us an incentive to continue. Will we always move up the ladder? Probably not. There will be times when we move down rather than up. When we experience denser, more negative emotions, they tell us we’re moving in the opposite direction from where we want to be. So pleasure and pain indicate to us, teach us, where we are in the present moment in our life. Do we want to move toward happiness and love, or do we want to stay in the lower energies? When we pay attention to our emotions, we know exactly where we are. Let us be conscious and present to what is happening in our lives. And let us strive to achieve happiness and love, for as each of us reaches that goal, we bring that energy into the world for all others to emulate and achieve.
