Joy Of Pain

Pain is a guiding light in the dark—

a way home for the grief-stricken and burdened.

It is a comfort known only by the living.

A comfort… a light… in the darkness?

Yes.

It has been.

Hopefully not again—

but I am here,

still living because of pain.

Pain is the sky gazing down at itself,

catching its reflection and smiling,

unaware it is seeing its own face

laid across the glassy surface

of a crystal-blue mountain lake.

The sky reaches endlessly for what it sees,

longing to hold everything it believes is separate.

Yet inside that vastness lies an emptiness—

devoid of emotion, beyond emotion—

a hollow space so wide

that an old ally waits there,

ready to give shape and structure

to what cannot contain itself.

For a moment, pain strikes a spark.

Where everything was dark beyond sight,

a glimmer appears—

a hint of home,

a breath of hope.

Something inside releases.

My body returns.

The layered weight of life erodes,

making room for familiar,

long-forgotten memories.

And now I remember—

how to enjoy everything.

Everything.

Everywhere, there is beautiful structure,

color,

texture.

Even the dark of night feels like high noon,

filling my eyes

with life.

— K.S.