Feeling Pain

I was reading the description of a show and “hero” is described as having “the rare inability to feel pain”. Sounds great… but its actually a deadly disorder, and fortunately it is very, very rare.

 

Pain is the bodies security system, like a burglar alarm on a door. It lets us know when something bad is happening. NOT feeling pain doesn’t mean there isn’t anything bad happening… it simply means we don’t know it and we will further compromise our well being without unknowing it if we don’t allow ourselves to feel the pain.

 

The ramifications for this are many:

When we eat too fast to know we are full we overindulge.

We pack our schedule full and don’t to notice our wellbeing.

We mask hurt with a smile and a nod and resentment festers.

We avoid lament and vulnerability before collective pain and pain-causing.

 

Our society is adept at masking pain. But feeling pain is essential for our well-being.

 

Now, a caveat, I come from a family with multiple family members who deal with diseases that cause chronic pain and that is a whole different world. I’m not saying pain is good. I’m saying suppressing the normal pains of life is deadly. We have to listen to our pain to create a more healthy self and a more healthy society.

 

• What is your pain telling you?
• What does the pain of your neighbors tell you as well?

• Do you have people with whom you can share your pain?
• Are you hearing the cries of friends, your neighbors, and the “other”?

• Are we resolved to change the sources of our pain?
• Are we resolved to change the ways we inflict pain?