My Child's Tooth Is Aching

My child's tooth is aching, and it makes me wonder, is there such a thing as growth without pain, expansion without stretching?

Could new teeth emerge from her mouth with no discomfort at all? Could new growth occur within each of us at no personal cost?

Is this pain, suffering, and persevering thing not simply a fundamental principle of the universe and of consciousness itself?

So why then do we resist it? Human nature, perhaps. Why do we do everything within our power to avoid even the smallest form of suffering if, in some measure, it is inevitable?

Can the unconscious become conscious without disruption? Without some form of acknowledgment in the body, mind, or spirit? I do not think so.

Perhaps the better question is, how do we learn to embrace the suffering that is necessary, the suffering that transforms, while letting go of the rest? And who grants one the discernment to know the difference?

Ah, you tell me.