Could one define pain as “resistance to motion”? Could one define joy as acceptance and amplification of motion?
Can there be any path to happiness other than learning to enjoy work? I don’t think so.
Edit: let me expand on this. Let us suppose that we begin as lumps of rock. We are at rest. If some vague life enters us, it compels us to move, but since we are rocks, moving is both unfamiliar to us, and seemingly difficult. Our task is to learn to accept this new reality, then take pleasure in it. Surely it is better being able to CHOOSE between repose and activity, if at various times one or the other appears more pleasurable to us?
Here is my take on the thing: we are all rocks. Or cattle. I had a dream once where angels were trying to instruct humans and it was literally like us talking to cows. They hear wah wah, wah, with a VERY slight chance they know their name.
Our job is to move faster, and to move faster you must move faster than you ever have, and that is pain. You resist it, or have an innate tendency to.
Pain is the drag on your movement when you are growing. Or as the Marines have it “Pain is weakness leaving your body”.
The SEAL’s say “the only easy day is yesterday”. This can only be true, though, when you are constantly pushing the envelope, constantly trying the new, constantly moving in new directions. You can otherwise build your peace with nearly ANYTHING.