Almost everything is multisided – including the occurrences that give us pain. So, we asked some of the most enlightened folks in the community to share how they have harnessed their pain to help rather than hurt them.
Abby McQueeney Penamonte

My mess is my message. My passion for working with other women is a result of my own personal struggles with disordered eating and using exercise to deal with pain/run from my personal problems. I started running at an early age and then got involved with endurance running, racing, and road marathons in my 20’s and 30’s. I competed in several 100-mile mountain races. Read more>>
Roberta Hughes

After my divorce, I went through a period of intense anxiety. It was humbling and disorienting because the very tools I had spent years adopting—and teaching others—suddenly felt out of reach. At first, I saw that as a personal failure, as if I “should” have been able to handle it better. But that season became a turning point. Read more>>
Gerald Bray

Just recently when I got back in the studio tbh . Im now using my pain to make relatable music that I hope can touch someone’s heart and let them know they aren’t the only one who struggles with pain . Read more>>
Jessica Lester

Within the last few years, I’ve experienced great levels of significant change and loss, amassing intense amounts of grief in an accelerated timeframe. The transformations I’ve witnessed have been deeply personal and reshaped not only the fibers of my being, but also my understandings of both my inner and outer worlds. My path has included perpetual exercises of surrender, courage, creativity, and trust. Read more>>
Kurt Buzick

I stopped hiding my pain and started using it as my power when I became a witch. I discovered my faith in witchcraft when I was a pre-teen struggling though school amidst my parents nasty divorce. Initially, I found Wicca which helped me to transmute all of my negative energy into positive energy. Read more>>
Maddie Teagarden

I feel like when I was young my parents and family really encouraged me to accept, embrace and love my disability and the hard things I go through. They always taught me that’s these things make me who I am and that’s and amazing strong confident and funny person. They also showed me I could use what I go through to help others around me. Read more>>