Basics.

This is going to be controversial(did I say a bit?) so if you choose to read it, do so with at least an open mind. For a while, even within the understanding of the purpose pain and denial play in our faiths and social conditionings I always struggled with the general concept that the only way to earn love and acceptance is through them. That the more you suffer in the name of, the more the reward? I assume there are reasons above my understanding that things work the way they do, but here's what I think. The self-denial of pleasure is actively self-harm. Take, for instance, fasting. It’s lauded in many religious traditions as a way to grow spiritually, to cleanse the soul, or to get closer to God. I get it. But doesn’t denying your body of sustenance which it needs to function, sound like something wrong? Is it just me? There’s something profoundly difficult for me to reconcile here. Fasting, in essence, makes you weak, drained, and at times, irritable, yet somehow, enduring this