Minty Fresh

It's difficult to find blog topics with so much going on. So I'll use what I have. Here's a question I'd like to consider: "Is pain a necessary part of personal growth?"

I've learned so much lately. It's been quite painful. Like dig deep, get out the bone saw, and probe for viable DNA. So, that makes me think pain and growth go hand in hand.

But I've also been through years of pain that kept me stunted. Dealing with the back injury, therapy, surgery and recovery was like a period of dormancy. Illness shrinks your life to what you can handle. Other things have immobilized me in other ways. When maintaining status quo is difficult, that's where things stay. (Could the phrase, "Try harder" be a red flag? [It was a white flag, but then came the bloody forehead of futility. {Sorry, I get gothic when I can't sleep.}])

But here's the part I'm wondering about: To what extent can change be affected without pain? Healing was like Spring. The gears started turning. Is it too optimistic to think that instead of "pulling teeth" it could be more like "brushing teeth"? I've been thinking hard and working hard and trying to improve. I hope I'm moving forward. (But if it's not awful, is it real?)