It only hurts for a moment.

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We've all been the recipient of hurt in our lives.  Can you remember when you were little, you scraped your knee on the pavement and mom put that orange liquid on it that burned like the dickens.  Mom would say it only hurts for a minute, but you were sure your leg was going to fall off.  Sure enough the burning stopped and before you knew it you were outside again running and screaming with the rest of the neighborhood kids.

Such is the hurt we all endure from time to time.  When we are in the midst of it we think it will last forever, but true to form it eventually goes away, and all we have left are the memories.  The problem with most hurt is that we never know when it is going to come, who it is going to come from, and more importantly why is it something that finds us. I guess this could be classified as one of those mysteries of life that we never find out the reason for it happening.  Suffice it to say each of us will have to deal with hurt at some point in our life.  How you handle it is what will dictate what you bring forth from it.

I can't sit here and tell you that there is only one way to deal with hurt.  I have found numerous ways to deal with it in my life, but my way of handling it could be completely different from the ways you might have handled it in the past.  The key is to face hurt head on and not let the day go by that you let it sit there and fester, because it will only cause more pain and suffering to you.

I have seen situations where people are dealing with hurt and you wonder how in the world do they have the strength to stand tall during it and not want to lash out at the producer of the hurt.  I know there have been hurts in my life that if I could have taken my pound of flesh out of the perpetrator I certainly would have.  Thank goodness cooler heads prevailed and I did not act on my first instinct.  Lashing out at someone who has caused you pain and suffering is never going to change the fact that you have had to endure the pain and suffering.  As much as you might want to take them out at the knees, your best move is simply to let it go and let bygones be bygones.  I know that for most people this is counter-intuitive to what they may have been raised to do, but let's face it, two wrongs do not make it right and in the end you will be just as guilty as the other party if you try to give it back to them.  If you allow perfect love to be your guide then two things will happen.  First you won't make matters worse by going after the guilty party, and trust me that happens far too often.  Second, and maybe more important then the first, you will have protected the one thing you never want to loose, your own dignity and knowing that you choose to take the high ground.

I know how easy it is to want to go after that SOB who has done you wrong.  In our minds we can justify all day long why it would be right to put them in their place, but if one is callus enough to go after you, do you really think that what you do back to them is really going to make a difference to them?  In all truth, you are the only one that it is going to affect, and affect you in a negative way.  If you go after darkness, you are only asking for more darkness to come into your life.  If you on the other hand display love and forgiveness, then that is what will manifest in your life.  Given the two outcomes, what makes more sense to you?

Most hurt in our lives comes in the form of emotional verses the physical hurt that many have been exposed to.  I believe it is easier getting over a scraped knee then getting over a broken heart.  Whereas the two seem quite opposite each other, they are probably closer to being similar then you might think.  When you scrape your knee on the pavement you probably haven't started yelling at the pavement and calling it every name in the book.  You realize that it's there, you did something to fall onto it, and you simply walk away and lick your wounds so to speak.  On the other hand, if the hurt has come from an individual, you are ready to poke out some eyeballs.  Maybe instead of lashing out at the originator of this hurt you opt to show love and compassion, you just might see a different outcome.  I can promise you this: if you choose to operate out of love instead of leashing out at them, you will be the one that changes, and that change will be positive.

We may never know the motivation that others have for causing pain, suffering, or hurt to another person, but we can choose to handle it the right way and not how we may have done it in the past.  Displaying love toward someone who has hurt you will do more than just help you, it will set the other person free.  If we get into a tit for tat situation pretty soon the event escalates to a whole new level and no one will get out of it unscathed.  If on the other hand you display nothing but love to the individual, then I can pretty much bet the situation will not escalate and you might just figure out what is causing this person to lash out.   Once again, how you handle the situation just might bring light into a pretty dark situation, but it is the light that will show others the way to go.

Hurt is never fun, but it is something we will all deal with.  Make the choice to do the right thing, and not what the world expects you to do.  Doing the right thing, will keep you free, it will set others free, and before you know it, the hurt will go away quickly.  Think about that.