“If we do the heavy lifting of facing up to pain, then gain is possible.”
No build-up in this song, just straight into the message. Pain will make your life better. The story of Job, from the Old Testament, is about extreme suffering that leads to a better life. Job gained a greater faith and riches through pain endured with faith in God. Every hero has to experience pain. Lessons learned from hard times build character and make you stronger for the next challenge. With the knowledge and strength gained, our next obstacle will be easier to overcome.
There is much talk today about showing vulnerability, sharing emotions and expressing our feelings. If what you’re going through is painful then telling someone is a good first step to overcoming that pain. Sometimes it is in the sharing of a problem that the solution comes.
Reflection on your past actions can be useful in helping you get through future situations. There may be some painful memories of things that have happened to you or of things you have done to others. The emotion felt during painful experiences can obscure the lesson contained in it. Time is needed to heal wounds as well as make it possible for us to find these lessons.
Although we all live a unique life, the human experience is shared and every difficulty we might face has been faced before. It is comforting to know that others have been through similar experiences to us and have come out stronger for it.
Excuses, however valid, have never changed a result or improved any situation.
A common shout out to a hip hop crowd is, “Put your hands up in the air!” The artist links this phrase to the theme of the song by asking if anyone has ever felt knocked down by life. I’m sure that most people would put their hands if asked this question. Joining in as the MC directs you to wave your hands from side to side is fun and could also simbolise waving for help if you sink into life’s quicksand.
Big Mama could be the artist’s actual mother or God through scripture. Having the Devil “get up to no good” takes power away from the harm the Devil could actually cause. We wouldn’t say that a dictator or cult leader was “up to no good”. The Devil can be thought of as the part of our consciousness that draws us to actions that don’t lead to the best version of ourselves. This might be decisions like folding to peer pressure when you know what your doing is wrong or avoiding a difficult conversation.
Christianity teaches to ask for forgiveness for our sins. If you take good lessons to heart and follow them the best you can, the mistakes you make to learn those lessons don’t need forgiveness. It is be better to try and act virtuously through the week than rely on forgiveness each Sunday. You can learn to accept your mistakes as part of life’s journey.
Monday is the beginning of the working week. The artist may be referring to getting to work on yourself rather than seeking forgiveness. “Kill it” could mean overcoming the negative thoughts and actions that have happened and move on in a positive way. Pain is inevitable and will occur throughout our life. By learning the lessons that will help you face up to the challenges of each Monday – each opportunity to start again – you will gain strength to handle pain and move on.
It’s up to you to do the work of carrying the pain on your own shoulders until you find a way through. The reward for this effort can only be found by reflecting on what actually happened, on how you responded, and considering how you could respond differently next time. None of this happens without effort.
No Pain, No Gain. Unlike bodybuilding we don’t need to seek out pain, life will give it to us. We need to see these painful experiences as lessons through which we can learn and grow. There are no guarantees, but if we do the heavy lifting of facing up to pain then gain is possible.
Some people aim for the easy life that can be represented by the classic image of a bright blue sky with a few puffy white clouds drifting slowly across. But that isn’t the reality for most people. It certainly isn’t the reality for those actively living their lives. For these people, the storm clouds will come.
The flu is associated with feeling miserable, winter, and bad weather, all of which are the opposite of blue skies. You will feel miserable at times, then good times will come around again and you will feel better. In the meantime, get on with what’s in front of you.
In the good times, we can build resilience ready for the hard times. If we gain clarity of who we are, our values and purpose, then we will know how to act in the tough times.
The darkness you feel in stressful times is only a tunnel that you are travelling through back into the light.
If we stay in pain, slow pain, there will be no benefit, no lesson learned. You need to be a “go getter” and get on with life.
It is possible to remain strong in the face of adversity while also be willing to adapt to life’s challenges. You might feel “small” but you have the opportunity to build your character through your experiences.
Rappers often talk about being in the “rap game”. By approaching the recording industry as a game to be played they distance themselves from setbacks. Life can be a viewed as a series of games that we should be active participants in and no game would be fun if you won every time.
The messages in these songs can reach big audiences. In this song the artist is passing on the lessons learnt when overcoming pain. We learn lessons at school and can be a part of a bigger classroom through songs like this one (shades of my own epiphany!).
It is common to take a pill to help with headaches. It is possible to gain a pill – that is the tools you need to deal with future problems – by working through today’s problems.
Your resolve strengthens each time you pick yourself up after a fall. It is necessary to struggle when tough times come. To not struggle would be to give up and accept the situation. Being unable to afford petrol, bad credit, and having to work over time hours are all examples of painful experiences to do with money, which is a common cause of pain.
You can use the knowledge, character, and strength gained from a bad experience as fuel to give you the energy to move forward and improve your life.
A lesson understood and incorporated in your life can be food for your soul.
