Life is pain au chocolat

This article, which dually functions as a stand-alone essay and introduction to this Special Issue of Dance, Movement & Spiritualities ( DMS ), explores the irreducible complexity of pain through a transdisciplinary lens, weaving together clinical counselling experience, etymological analysis and a philosophical dialogue with an AI-generated Ludwig Wittgenstein. Beginning with a client’s motto, ‘life is pain’, the author navigates the ethical and spiritual imperatives of ‘treating’ pain – not merely as a medical or psychological problem to be solved, but as a territory to be endured and a negotiation for peace. The narrative challenges the traditional view of pain as a private, internal object, utilizing Wittgensteinian performance philosophy to reposition pain as a social practice located in the grammar of communal life. By examining the dialectical tension between pleasure and suffering – symbolized by the pun ‘Life is pain au chocolat ’ – the text argues for a ‘Pain Mind’ spirituality: a practice of turning towards pain to reveal its creative and transformative potential. Finally, the article draws on visionary and speculative science fiction to illustrate how the affirmation of grief and the refusal of injustice can manifest as a ‘profane divinity’, ultimately framing pain as a necessary expression of love and a catalyst for social resistance.