I am not an art critic. Not by any means. What I know about art could fit in the proverbial pinhead. But I do know something of people. As a person who spends more time observing people more than interacting with them, I notice things I might have otherwise missed. But doesn’t it take much insight to see the heightened humanness of Frida Kahlo and appreciate her sheroic nature.

Even a cursory awareness of Frida Kahlo’s work would tell you she experienced major physical trauma. As a passenger on a bus involved in an accident with a trolley, a handrail had broken loose and impaled her in the back and shot through her pelvis. Eighteen years old with a shattered spine and other major skeletal issues, she lay bedridden for months. Ultimately, she would have over 30 surgeries to repair the damage, or to manage the pain.

Her art was her path to self acceptance. Struck with polio at the age of six, she was well versed with physical pain by the time of the the bus accident. But it was the infirmity created by her injuries that was instrumental in her formation as an artist. More importantly, her formation as a person.

She not only accepted her pain, she embraced it. Her courage went beyond waking up every day knowing her days were all going to be same as the one before, if not worse. She held her suffering up for all of us to see. Shared it in a way that invited us to experience it through her, with her. Her strength was tempering that pain with love.

Owning one’s pain is the ultimate act of self love. And self love is the only way to strip the torment of its power to define a person. Pain has a place in all lives. Everyone has been hurt by something. But society says it should be pushed aside, ignore it and it will disappear. It’s as if being hurt is something to be ashamed of. But it doesn’t disappear, it just gets hidden, becoming a festering wound.

Frida felt no shame. Her pain did not define her. But she did wear it as a badge of honor. She pulled back the curtain on what should not be shown and guided us to the path to find the true humanness in hurting. She showed the world that the acceptance of pain can open the door to deeper joys. The vibrancy of her work mitigated the misery created by the sharing of her agony.

Being damaged is universal, to one degree or another. Frida Kahlo showed us how to push past the pain and find our humanity. How to acknowledge the sorrows in one another and see the beauty in just being.