I still remember, when I was just in my early twenties, one day a friend said to me,
"Have you ever felt that life is boring, like it has no meaning?"
At that moment, I was shocked. She was around the same age as me—how could someone our age find life boring? I had a career ahead of me to pursue, a beautiful love story to experience… so many things were waiting for me! How could life be boring?
Over time, the details of that conversation faded from my memory. But strangely, that feeling of surprise—and her words—kept resurfacing throughout my life. Her face has grown blurry in my mind, but those words have only become clearer.
As I grew older and experienced the ups and downs of life, I came to realize that happiness is easy to attain, but hard to keep. When we reach a goal or get something we desire, we feel happy—sometimes even just buying a piece of clothing we like or receiving a compliment can bring joy. But then we notice that the joy isn’t quite as satisfying as we imagined—and it fades quickly, like a fleeting flash. Sometimes it's gone before we even notice it was there.
To make life feel meaningful, we keep setting new goals, achieving them, then setting more… This cycle becomes a way to track life, to prove our existence has purpose.
But pain, in contrast, feels far more intense and enduring. Pain seems to stretch time itself—every minute feels longer. We get trapped—by a situation, a relationship, an emotion, a sickness, or even by someone’s words. And in that trap, we instinctively try to escape. We try everything to change our situation. But eventually, we realize that no matter what we do, we’re still spinning inside the same cage, unable to find a way out.
That’s when a deep desire arises from within:
"I want to get out of this. I don’t want to suffer anymore."
And that moment becomes the gateway to spiritual awakening.
Some might say, "Isn’t this just running away?"
Yes, in many cases it is. But even escape can be a way of healing.
Because the state of our inner world shapes our outer reality, a change in consciousness can lead to a change in life. However, if your subconscious just wants temporary relief, once the pain passes, you’ll likely return to the same life pattern—back to the 3D game, swinging between pain and pleasure. Then one day, when suffering once again overwhelms you, the door to awakening reappears.
But for those who truly develop a deep yearning for liberation, what they seek is not just relief from pain, but lasting peace and inner joy. These are the ones who will keep walking the spiritual path, seeking the truth of life.
So you could say that pain is like an alarm clock for awakening—a medicine for the soul, a gift from life.
Apart from those who awaken through pain, there’s another group: people who feel life is meaningless or dull.
This often happens to old souls—those who have lived many lifetimes and experienced all kinds of stories. Like adults in an amusement park, the games no longer excite them. Life seems to lose its flavor. They feel numb. And slowly, a different kind of longing begins to emerge:
The longing to go home. The longing to awaken. That becomes life’s true purpose.
Before a spiritual awakening fully unfolds, you may go through dramatic changes in relationships, career, or health. You might also notice some subtle signs. Here are seven common ones:
Everyone’s path is different. Everyone awakens in their own way, at their own time. If you are going through pain right now, I want to tell you:
There is no absolute good or bad. On the other side of pain, there may be the greatest gift of your life.