Love is Pain

In 2012, I got a tattoo on my left forearm that was an ambigram that said Love on initial look and said Pain when viewing upside down. It is the one tattoo that gets the most compliments as well as the most questions and confused looks. Many of those people as me why I got a tattoo like that. Since every tattoo I have and plan to get carry some type of meaning and/or significance to me, I was obliged to explain.

In my opinion, a person never truly knows pain until they love. That is an easy statement to comprehend, but for some people it is hard to personalize. The easiest reference to this statement is regarding associations with other people. Logically speaking, it is the people that you love most that are in prime position to hurt you...whether it be intentional or unintentional. The closer you get to a person, the more permission you give them to access the most precious parts of you. Because of this, I feel pain is an inevitable result along the way. You hope and pray that the affects of that pain will never outweigh the joy and love you experience in that relationship.

The opposite side to that coin is whether or not that person you're involved with values or appreciates the affects of their actions and words. Just as important as it is for you to understand and prepare for the inevitable pain, it is critical that you limit your circle to people who truly value your mental and emotional stability. Again, I know that statement sounds so much like common sense so let me go a little deeper in what I mean. Many people appear to be in your corner and appear to truly value you. The mark of how people truly value you is how they respond and react to you when they are in their most emotional state. When discussions and disagreements become escalated, some people tend to disregard whatever love they say they have for you and purposely attempt to inflict pain. This is NEVER a good thing to deal with. An argument is never an excuse to be hateful or evil to a person purposely.

Always keep in mind that pain is a part of life and love and growth. It's important to know your thresholds for what you can handle and what you will accept. Just because someone hurts you doesn't mean that they don't love you. It simply means that you have placed them in a prime position in your life to have a great impact on you emotionally. That is not a bad thing. If you close yourself to pain, then you close yourself to love as well. That makes for a very lonely existence.