Utility Of Pain

During a session this morning, I was openly admired for my abilities, knowledge and who I am and, I have to admit, I am pleased as well.  Not surprisingly, the admiration and my positive feelings were nicely balanced out by being considered a bit of a nuisance and an idiot later the same day!  The response later in the day was by service people largely in response to my speech impediment, which is a nuisance to me too.  At any rate, my abilities, knowledge and who I am are partly a result of what I have been through in this life.  I have been faced with numerous very hard choices, experienced extreme pain and had to accomplish seemingly impossible things in order to avoid suffering, pain and death.  In short, I have grown through adversity.  I have also witnessed the benefits of adversity in numerous other people.  It would seem that adversity and pain, while very unpleasant, are also beneficial.