Pain is weakness leaving the body. An old Marine Corps saying I'm used to hearing, given my father and grandfather are both USMC Retirees (55 years between the two). There was a rare moment when I spontaneously came to a conclusion about a certain something; in this case, the sensation of pain.

Really, pain is another sensation. It is considered negative, and essentially is, signaling the destruction of cells in the body, a loss and damage relayed to the brain as a negative sensation. However, this whole relay system is based on pain having to be negative.

Obviously being hurt isn't fun. I've always had a high pain tolerance, but never found pain to be particularly enjoyable. Now I've started to realize it's just another sensation. It feels odd, yet when I'm able to will my way through physical pain, after the pain subsides and eventually dulls away, it is indeed true that the little bit of weakness that tells you to feel bad, mope, or even cry has been cast aside.

Once you've gotten a small cut and cried over it as a child, you slowly become less and less likely to cry over a cut. Much the way one's first bloody nose is a horrendous experience, later bloody noses are merely annoying.

I haven't actually cried in about nine years now. I haven't even been able to force myself to cry. Part of it is emotional control. It would seem that part is just a realization that pain is a sensation we have to live through. That little nagging negative tidbit of life merely allows us to enjoy the sweeter side.

I've started to view pain as a blessing, a feeling that brings us back to earth and allows us to appreciate our daily freedom and mobility, despite the momentary minimal negativity.