no pain, no gain

One of my son’s favorite things to do was to go to the gym for a workout. Some of his friends told me that they loved working out with Jake because he always was there to push them a little further, to work them a little harder and to encourage them to take it to another level. As they say, no pain, no gain. So in working out to increase strength and conditioning, although it hurts, there is an upside to the hard workout put in by making us stronger. Over the years I have learned from my son that this philosophy applies to me as well. Just as he liked pushing his friends to work it harder at the gym, I feel Jake is now pushing me to work it a bit harder at life. He has been pushing me further on my spiritual path, and totally encouraging me to take my spirituality to the next level. He is in a sense, my own personal spiritual strength training coach, and I love that! If we didn’t work it a little bit harder each day to expand our consciousness, we would remain stagnant and miss the beautiful opportunity for growth and strength that we are supposed to be experiencing while we are here. So as much as it hurts, and the pain can be so intense in our grief, we have the chance to turn that pain into the catalyst for us to grow stronger. Just imagine your loved one is your own personal trainer, reminding you that, no pain, no gain.