Pain is a harsh taskmaster. It demands a lot of attention and gives nothing in return. It can be an all consuming entity that is unrelenting and if there is a bright side to it at all, it lets you know that you are still alive.

I know that when you suffer from pain or trauma, there will be days where darkness and gloom threaten to overtake your spirit, but if you can hang onto the belief that in the end, things will get better, hope is surely preferable to despair, is it not?

When you are in pain, it is sometimes very difficult to think about anything other than your pain but I am here today to ask you to give it your best shot. I know that you can design a life worth living, a life that fulfills you and brings you joy and a reason for being.

Now some of you reading this may not believe me. You may think that you cant do anything about your pain, but you would be wrong. You see, living despite your pain is really just that. It is about finding your own solutions and not relying on others to do it for you.

Have you ever read a book or written a story, or painted a picture or put together a puzzle and found yourself so deep in concentration that you forgot to take your pain pills? In fact, if you are honest, you realized that you didnt even think about the pain the whole time.

This is what I am talking about. Finding solutions to help you get rid of the pain for just a little while, because if you can train yourself to do it for a little while, you can train yourself to do it for longer periods of time. Meditation can be another source of relief but may take some time to learn to do it properly.

Think of it as training to take back your life. The life you are going to design. The life you want to live. You know that there will be times that you will want to do something and pain might stop you, so learn to know yourself so well that you can implement the strategies you need to get your pain under control and function the way you were meant too.

Now I am not asking you to be stoic, not by a long shot. It is not about you being more human than anyone else. Many times people are not given adequate control for their pain. There is NO shame in taking pain pills if you need them. In fact, the shame is on those that do not understand how debilitating pain can be. If you were a diabetic, you would take insulin. It is exactly the same thing, but pain pills are not the only answer to living in pain.

Learn to view the glass half full. See if you can view your pain as a source of inspiration. What have you learned about yourself and others as a result of what happened to you? What obstacles have you had to overcome and solutions found that you can share with others? Necessity has always been the mother of invention. What have you created to help yourself that may be of service or interest to the larger community? Stop living as a victim and start living like the person you know how to be. Take advantage of being alive in a time when technology assists us in so many ways.

I look forward to knowing that you have taken back your life and in the words of St. Francis of Assissi, where there is despair, there is hope!