It feels interminable. Like you’ll never get out. Like it’s never…going…to…end. That’s the nature of hell. It’s not the pain that drives you insane, it’s the fear that the pain could go on and on.

The first thing to tell yourself when you’re in hell: This pain WILL end.

I find this works for most varieties of hell. Physical pain. Heart break. Mental torture. Long road trips when you’re forced to listen to sports talk radio.

You probably won’t believe it when you remind yourself that This pain WILL end. And you may have nine reasons why you’ll never “fully” get over it. (And maybe 4.5 of them could be legit.) But your exact coordinates in hell, that specific degree of pain, that particular agony — all that will shift.

Because life keeps moving forward, always toward healing.
The nature of hell (density + illusion) is constriction.
The nature of heaven (light + truth) is expansion — always upward, onward and inward at the same time.
LIFE LIVES EVERYWHERE.

Use this truth to catch your breath: This pain WILL end.

Declare. Breathe. Move. Forward. Toward the truth.

(PS…For real. The pain will end. You’re going to get through it.)