Pain is a gift from the gods.

Suffering is a gift. In it is hidden mercy.

There is advantage in the wisdom won from pain.

It is in dialogue with pain that many beautiful things acquire their value.

The secret of joy is the mastery of pain.

Remember, pain serves a purpose.

Plato once said that pain restores order to the soul. Rumi said that it lops off the branches of indifference. “The throbbing vein / will take you further / than any thinking.”14 Whatever else it does, pain offers an experience of being human that is as elemental as birth, orgasm, love, and death. Because it is so real, pain is an available antidote to unreality — not the medicine you would have chosen, perhaps, but an effective one all the same. The next time you are in real pain, see how you feel about television shows, new appliances, a clean house, or your resumé. Chances are that none of these will do anything for you. All that will do anything for you is some cool water, held out by someone who has stopped everything else in order to look after you. An extra blanket might also help, a dry pillow, the simple knowledge that there is someone in the house who might hear you if you cried.

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding... And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy

Is pain a promise? I was schooled in pain, And found out all I could of all desire;

the pain we suffer is a way to make us appreciate what comes next.

Art is not alone in imparting charm and mystery to the most insignificant things; pain is endowed with the same power to bring them into intimate relation with ourselves.

Power is pleasure; and pleasure sweetens pain.

A moment's pain can be a lifetime's gain.

Pleasure bought with pains, hurts.