Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Chisomo Kamlopa

I was comfortably sitting on my bed when I suddenly felt a sharp painful bite on my elbow. My comfort had been disturbed. As I quickly turned to see what decided to torture me with such pain, automatically my hand grabbed the book I was reading and used it to kill the glittering green-winged insect that had its antennas ready to have a second bite. I passionately killed it with so much anger.

If my skin didn’t feel so much pain, if my comfort zone was never disturbed, I would have never known that I had the ability to scratch such a small insect with so much anger-driven passion. Seeing the insect lying dead on the floor, I thought to myself “Pain can either cause you to do the worst or the best.” I am sure somebody might be asking “but what best could have been done here?” Well, maybe just pushing it outside.? I am not really sure if that would be the best reaction but one thing I know is that if there was a worst reaction in this scenario, then a best reaction was possible as well. The opposite of worst is best.

If there is worst in a certain situation, possibilities of best existing are too high. And that brings me back to my thinking that pain can either cause you to do the worst or the best.

This thought led me into thinking how the pain of seeing rural communities face various challenges led me into the best decision of offering myself to serve my country through facilitating change in these rural communities.

Pain causes discomfort and when that happens, people usually look for means of eliminating that pain. In most cases the best way to do so, is through dealing with the cause of that pain. If you get to talk to people that have made a difference in this world, they will tell their story that they were hurt with how things were and they felt the need to collaborate and find solution. So the math is simple; Pain + Discomfort = Eliminating the cause of pain, creating comfort.

What is it that is happening in the world today that causes so much pain in you? What action have you taken to deal with what causes that pain? Has the power of the pain helped you to give out your best?

The world needs people that realize that it is not just about complaining about how bad things are or how pathetic you feel when you watch news of how children are dying of hunger. The world today needs people that realize the power of pain. People that realize that pain must be a driving force into giving out the best of their ability to bring change and solutions.
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Pain that comes with seeing how our communities are struggling should bring you into the realization of the ability you have to contribute to the elimination of those challenges. Allow that pain to bring out the best out of you.
Pain can either cause you to do the worst or the best. What goals has pain ignited in you?