When my son Daniel was younger he didn't feel pain in a typical way. I don't know if he didn't feel it, or if he simply processed it differently. I once watched him fall and hit his head on the bricks in front of the fireplace. He got a curious look on his face and repeated the action, lightly touching his head to the brick. He responded to pain with curiosity...not anger, not fear, not betrayal. He is now a much more typical kid, but I appreciate the insight he gave me to other options we have when we feel pain.
We feel pain and then we feel how we feel about the pain. We attach a meaning to it. "Pain is bad", "It's never going to heal", "I'm such a loser!" Instead of other possible responses like..."Hmmm, curious. I wonder why that happened now. Maybe this pain will help me in some way." Sometimes the stress we feel that makes us tighten our muscles around pain actually causes more pain than the initial injury. What if we could let it go? Relax it. Become curious about it.
Pain is good. It keeps us safe. It keeps us alive. It shows us what we need to pay attention to. Pain can be one of our greatest teachers. It has the potential to guide us to great understanding.
Monday, February 15, 2010
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got pain. pain was a square meal in my daily diet, it was the first sip of French Roast and my last thoughts to sleep. Beth challenged me and my pain, after a long hard fight we could not overcome the strength and experience that goes into the care Beth offers. Pain is a living breathing thing, thanks for your victory loosing has never fealt so good...............yerno.1
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