On third (and last) thought...

...because I think this is the longest post I've ever posted, and because I don't think I have any more thoughts in me tonight!

In the expression of life's journey, Kahlil Gibran may be the best philosopher I've ever encountered. I know most people would say he's more of a poet than a philosopher, but I think poets like Kahlil Gibran and Langston Hughes make the best philosophers.

In his best known work The Prophet, here is what Gibran says "on pain."

And what about Langston on pain? Langston, my Langston. You say it better than anybody:

"Though you may hear me holler,

And you may see me cry--

I'll be dogged, sweet baby,

If you gonna see me die."