How to Overcome Pain?

How to Overcome Pain

Negativity is all around us and doesn't always present itself in an obvious way. Here is an inspirational story which may help you to reduce the negativity in your life.

An aging Hindu saint grew tired of his disciple's complaints regarding his personal issues. One morning, saint sent him to get some salt. When the disciple returned, the saint told him to mix a handful of salt in a glass of water and then drink it. 

"How does it taste?" the saint asked. 

"Ugh! very salty," said the disciple. 

The saint chuckled and then asked the disciple to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and once the disciple swirled his handful of salt in the water, the saint said, "Now drink from the lake." 

As the water dripped down the disciple's chin, the saint asked, "How does it taste?" 

"Fresh and sweet," answered the disciple. 

"Do you taste the salt now?" asked the saint. 

"No," said the disciple. At this the saint explained softly, 

"The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a tumbler. Become a lake." 

"Life is not what happens to you but how you respond to it." 

"Tough times never last, but tough people do."