How do you respond when Pain knocks on your front door?
Do you welcome Pain with arms open and all the joy of reuniting with a loved one?
Maybe your reaction is more like mine used to be. Slam the door! Bolt it! Push all the heavy furniture in front of the door! Quickly now, everybody out the back door!
PAIN. P~Persistent A~Agony I~Intense N~Non-negotiable
Pain certainly has a unique way of getting our complete attention.
My earliest memories of Pain depict it as something to be avoided at all costs!
Pain was an unwelcome guest; someone whose visits were numerous in my childhood.
Pain is incredibly persistent!
As I grew older my visits with pain began to intensify. Fear and pain even joined forces!
One day pain came barging in the front door of my life and stubbornly sat down in the center of my world and refused to budge.
I pleaded with pain's persistence.
I wailed in pain's agony.
I was tormented by pain's intensity.
I desperately tried to negotiate with pain.
"What did I do to deserve this?!?"
"I promise I will be good!"
"I'm sorry!"
"I'll do ANYTHING if you will go away!"
My pleas fell on deaf ears....or so I thought at the time.
I was immobilized by pain's intensity in my life. Unable to take care of my most basic physical needs, I was forced to seek refuge within. There, in the beauty of my inner self, I was greeted with the overwhelming felling of love and peace. The peace that passes all understanding waiting there for me all along.
Have you ever heard the saying, "Pain is an inevitable part of life, suffering is optional"? When pain came for it's extended stay in my life, it didn't bring suffering along for the trip. Suffering was something I created. Why would I invite suffering to pain's party?!?! Innocence. I didn't realize I had a choice. Many people are in some sort of pain, yet they do not seem to suffer. Goodness abounds everywhere and these beautiful souls have found the beauty within pain.
Those souls who are suffering are desperately seeking a way out of pain, as if pain is some ultimate punishment for some unknown mistake. I tried surgery, pain medication, physical therapy, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, distance energy healing.....there was no stone left unturned as I desperately tried to evade pain's presence in my life. Pain is still very much a part of my life, but I finally discovered how to get suffering to leave the party. I gave pain a new meaning in my life.
PAIN. P~Powerful A~Angel I~Integration N~Needed
Pain began to symbolize what an amazing growth spurt my soul had experienced as a result of my life. What if, instead of punishment for a mistake, pain actually visits us to reward us? How often do we take a moment to rest? When was the last time you took time to thank your body for it's amazing way of transporting you all over your world? What if, instead of focusing on the part of our body that is in pain, we take a look at the other amazing parts? Physically speaking here, even if two of my toes have heightened sensations and no mobility, the other 8 toes are healthy and supporting my every step! A section of my body is having intense muscle spasms as I sit writing, but the majority of my body is functioning optimally! I am so grateful that my lungs breath, my heart beats, my blood circulates, my eyes see, my nose smells, my ears hear, my skin feels and holds everything in place. There's more working right than wrong!
Pain is our body's way of communicating that something is out of balance. Our physical body reflects our emotional and spiritual bodies. Instead of running from pain, can we bravely turn into it and allow it to teach us what needs balance so we can thrive?
We are spiritual beings having a human experience. What if pain simply symbolizes the gap between our incredible spiritual growth and our human body catching up? What if pain is our clue to take time to integrate our spiritual growth with our human body? A time to go within and seek the harmony?
When I look back at the day pain barged in my front door and refused to budge from the center of my world....my heart sighs in deep gratitude. Pain was my loving guide out of the life I was living and into a brand new world.
I believe in the ultimate perfection of Life. That there are no mistakes That any experience we have serves a purpose. That things happen "for"us, never "to" us. I believe that in order to know peace and love, first we must experience life without them. How would we know joy without sorrow? Hot without cold? Happy without sad? Peace without chaos? Love without hate.
I've made friends with pain and now consider pain a beloved friend and most profound teacher. If the day comes that pain's visit is a distant memory....it will be one I will cherish as the divine treasure it is.
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