Sometimes I just want this magic thing to solve my problems.
But I know nothing can just whisk my troubles away. That’s why I drew this cartoon. To remind me…
We all have pain.
We can’t escape it.
Some of us feel weighted down by depression. Others of us have bum knees. And many others have bosses that only care about themselves.
The alternative is death.
I’ll take the pain for all it offers.
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Karl,
Hey!!! Awesome drawing! I love the character you’ve drawn…I just hope I have more hair than him for a long time to come! Even if I don’t, thought, that pain, too, is better than the alternative…
Hi Lance, You make a good point. Some of my readers have certain faith about the next phase of life. I was trying to convey that we are here to enjoy and learn from this life, not want to move on to the next life before we are ready.
It sure would be nice to take that hammer and start smashing everything, that would make me feel better =)
If you took away all pain, my challenges would go to and then how would I grow? On the other hand we can take away most of our own pain by the way we look at life. We can let happiness in and let most of our “control” go!
I have an unrelated question. What do you do at x-mas when you have a sibling younger than you who is always rude and you don’t really like that much. That’s my case, I am buying my other siblings gifts but this one young and rude sibling of mine doesn’t deserve anything. We never talk, when I see her I say hi and she just ignores it. I think she has self-esteem issues, she’s always angry w/ everyone, I feel bad for her. I don’t want to buy her anything but maybe a book called “How to be nice and live happy”. Your thoughts?
Hi Karl,
What a great drawing–it’s so expressive! I think we all sometimes wish we had a magic wand that we could wave and our problems would just vanish into thin air. The other variation on this is wishing we could travel back in time and undo either the problem or a response to the problem, but–alas–we don’t get to do that either. Come to think of it, even superheroes aren’t allowed to do that! (I’m alluding to the first Superman movie where he tampered with time and undid a series of catastrophic events so that he could save his beloved Lois Lane.)
It’s true that we do learn and grow stronger and more resilient from the challenges and painful situations that we encounter as horrendous as it feels at the time. We may not be able to duck painful situations in life, but we can find ways to manage the pain or transform that pain into mental and emotional energy that serves us instead of consumes us. (I’ll be the first to admit that it’s easier said than done at times!) When I remember to do this, I use a visualization where I offer up the more intense (and usually less helpful) thoughts and feelings to each of the elements–wind, fire, water and earth–to do this. I think it’s also important to remember that it’s okay to feel what we feel,and that asking for support if it all starts feeling too painful and overwhelming is a sign of strength, courage and wisdom–not weakness.
I love it Karl! I especially like that the guy is holding a hammer in back of him… is it to conk someone on the head to get rid of their problems?! 😉
I totally agree though, we all look for that magic pill, that one final all encompassing solution. Glad to know we can laugh about it together!
Hi Karl,
The irony about pain and suffering is that they are the greatest teachers. Human beings do not learn from joy. It is sad but true. We learn most when we are down on our knees and in pain.
However, nothing lasts forever…and that is true of pain and suffering.
Hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving and I love the drawing. 🙂
I cannot tell you Karl how much I enjoyed this – the cartoon and your words. You know those cartoons are so simple yet I feel that they speak to people a lot, because today many of us want simple. There are enough things in life that are complicated, so it is nice to have something that grounds us.
We do learn best through pain, as Nadia cites above. And how we learn, what we do with that pain can make a huge impact in how we perceive pain in the future.
My favorite line is always …”and this too shall pass”…it always does.
Hi Jessica, Sometimes a good smashing is cathartic. As long as living things aren’t involved. 🙂
Hi Tess, Pain brings wisdom. Without it life would be empty. I just wish I could remember that when the pain feels so deep.
Hi Jessica, I don’t think a self-help book will help in the state she is in. I would suggest making her something. Maybe just a card telling you how much you love her (I know it’s hard). Try to remember a story of when she was nicer. Even a memory of when you were little kids. By talking about her positive traits they are more likely to come out. I’m not saying this will work, but it’s better than fighting anger with anger. It only makes the situation worse. Please let me know what happens. Whatever you try doing.
Hi Sue, A visualization is a great idea. You should write an article about the earth, wind, fire, and water visualization. I know i would love to read it.
Hi Nathalie, When it doubt laugh. It rarely makes the situation worse.
Hi Nadia, Pain is a great teacher. We hate to admit this at times, but when we have enough space and time to reflect. The tough situation was really a blessing.
Hi Evita, I’ve been trying out new methods of helping people with work happiness. I’m glad you liked the drawing. Looks like other people do too. I’ll keep posting them.
Hi Karl: Love the cartoon. I know what you mean about wanting to fix things; it’s the control freak in you. You’re not alone: I have a very active control freak-side. I believe in being proactive, but sometimes there’s very little you can do to have a direct impact on the situation. The only thing you can do is act within your sphere of influence and then try to go with the flow.
I love this cartoon. Pain is part of life and yet our society often tells us to “Get over it” without ever feeling it. If you want to grow from it you have to feel it in order to heal it, and then growth happens. At least that’s been the process in my life.
I do love the cartoon!
I don’t think your shoulders are big enough to take all my pain.
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