Pain I Grow Through

The elderly man sat on his front porch peacefully contemplating the neighboring children play in the street. His grandson should have arrived an hour ago. He grasped the armrests of his chair to heave himself up. “Pappy!” Akira cried out, slightly out of breath from across the yard. He raised his gaze while pushing his thick glasses back onto his nose and smiled broadly. “I was starting to think you had forgotten about me.” He teased. “However by the looks of it, you seem to have a good excuse. What happened to your hand my boy?” He inquired, pointing at Akira’s bandage. Hurrying to his grandfather’s side, he burst into explanation “I burnt it on the stove this morning, almost went blind with pain. It’s still throbbing like it has a heart of its own. Mother wanted me to stay in, but I insisted on seeing you. She knows it would take me much more than this to miss our Sunday afternoon tea.” The grandfather smiled and motioned to a vacant armchair. “You’re a tough young man Akira” he paused then added “not unlike your grandfather you know” after which he winked. Akira beamed. “You know son, when ever your mother used to injure herself as a young girl, I would always tell her to use the experience as a lesson instead of a defeat. Being angry or feeling sorry for oneself is a great waste of energy. Many even insist that it is through pain that we truly grow wiser.” Seriousness had fallen upon the boy’s features as he spoke “This must mean you have known much pain in your life Pappy, for you are the wisest man I know.” The grandfather let out a laugh. “My dear boy, do not look so grim! Yes it is true, I have had my decent share of sufferings, but some of those incidents have brought me very special experiences in addition to wisdom.” He leaned forward and went on “When I was in my late twenties, I was forced to go to the hospital due to a terrible affliction that had overcome me and that had worsened due to my dismissal of it in its early stages. It had gotten so severe I couldn’t really walk; your great grandmother had to half carry me through the hospital doors. My face was gleaming with sweat and tears, my body was trembling with every step, the pain was so intense I felt it was giving me fever. I will never forget the beauty of the events that followed. As soon as we stepped through the doorway, a security guard came to us, asking if we needed assistance in going to the emergency. Genuine caring was legible in his eyes, even through my blurred vision. My mother told the guard it was not necessary, that we had an appointment. However, my hospital card needed to be renewed; therefore we had to see to that before meeting with the doctor. We walked down the corridor and I could feel every single eye following my spastic movements. As mother reached to take a number, two women came running towards us. One wanted information on where we needed to go, the other was motioning us towards her desk so we could get the card issue sorted. They had skipped us ahead of a couple dozen people, but none of these people seemed to mind. Everyone was extremely understanding. At the time, I was at a phase in my life when I felt slightly sickened by humanity and was often exposed to hateful behavior, but this… this was unlike anything I had ever experienced. This is what restored my faith in human nature.” Leaning back in his chair he added “Those five days of constant pain really changed how I perceived things and even then, as I sat trembling, waiting to see the doctor, I was thankful for being able to live it.” The boy’s eyes were filled with comprehension as he spoke “Not only does suffering help progress one’s personal journey to wisdom, it unifies all through compassion.” The grandfather smiled. “Precisely.” Looking at his watch, he noted “All this talk and no tea! Come my boy, I’ll put the water on the stove. Why don’t you go fetch the biscuits in the pantry?”