--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unexplained pain may sometimes direct our…" description: "\"Unexplained pain may sometimes direct our attention to something unacknowledged, something we are afraid to know or feel. Then it holds us to our integ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_attention_unexplained-pain-may-sometimes-direct-ou_836388.jpg" --- # Unexplained pain may sometimes direct our attention to… ![“Unexplained pain may sometimes direct our attention to something unacknowledged, something we are afraid to know or feel. Then it holds us to our integrity, claiming the attention we withhold. The thing which calls our attention may be a repressed experience or some unexpressed and important part…” quote by Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_attention_unexplained-pain-may-sometimes-direct-ou_836388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_attention_unexplained-pain-may-sometimes-direct-ou_836388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_attention_unexplained-pain-may-sometimes-direct-ou_836388.jpg) > “Unexplained pain may sometimes direct our attention to something unacknowledged, something we are afraid to know or feel. Then it holds us to our integrity, claiming the attention we withhold. The thing which calls our attention may be a repressed experience or some unexpressed and important part of who we are. Whatever we have denied may stop us and dam the creative flow of our lives. Avoiding pain, we may linger in the vicinity of our wounds, sometime for many years, gathering the courage to experience them.” [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unaddressed emotional pain forces us to confront hidden parts of ourselves, blocking creativity until we acknowledge it. **In simple terms:** Pain points to what we ignore, stopping us from creating. Key Takeaway Recognize and feel the hidden pain to restore flow. Themes self-awareness healing creativity integrity Mood reflective introspective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative projects - personal relationships - stress management Key Concepts psychology emotional intelligence trauma Questions to Reflect On - What hidden feelings are you avoiding? - How does acknowledging pain change your creative work? A Different Perspective Pain can be overwhelming and may lead to avoidance rather than insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Attention Repressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-repressed-604165/) [Avoiding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoiding/) [Avoiding pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoiding-pain/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Dams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dams/) [Denied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denied/) [Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Experience Unexpressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-unexpressed-604166/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Gathering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gathering/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Repressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repressed/) [Repressed Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repressed-experience-604164/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Unexplained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unexplained/) [Unexplained Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unexplained-pain-604163/) [Unexpressed Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unexpressed-important-604167/) [Vicinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vicinity/) [Who we are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who-we-are/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“An emotional outbreak may follow, accompanied by strong, legitimate reproaches, and only after this outbreak will a new link with repressed experience become clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller-the-drama-of-the-gifted-child/an-emotional-outbreak-may-follow-accompanied-by-strong-legitimate/) [Alice MIller, The Drama of the gifted child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller-the-drama-of-the-gifted-child/) > [Women have developed the second attention because they were repressed, because they were manipulated, because they were used as property, as chattel, historically, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/women-have-developed-the-second-attention-because-they-were-repressed/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I love Chatsworth, Winchester Cathedral, Edinburgh Castle... 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I don't talk down to people, so no one else in this building, in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-don-t-yell-at-people-i-don-t-mistreat-people-i-don-t-talk-down-to/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“When sociobiologists start shitting in their backyards with dinner guests in the vicinity, maybe their arguments about innateness over culture will start seeming more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kipnis/when-sociobiologists-start-shitting-in-their-backyards-with-dinner/) [Laura Kipnis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kipnis/) > [Children are naive-they trust everyone. 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You will have to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/from-a-good-teacher-you-may-learn-the-secret-of-listening-you-will/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [To seek approval is to have no resting place, no sanctuary. Like all judgement, approval encourages a constant striving. 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