How do we deal with pain?
"One could say that life is at least 50 percent pain. If we do not relate to pain, we are not relating to half of our life. Everything is fine when we are happy, but when we are in pain, we come pertrified. The inability to relate to pain narrows our playing field. When we are able to work with pain and understand it, life becomes twice as interesting. Relating to pain makes us more fearless and happy."
- Sakyong Mipham in Running with the Mind of Meditation.
When I read this quote a few months back, I was very intregued. It caught my imagination and has been coming up in a lot of my classes since. Yes, pain is part of life. It is unavoidable. How we relate to it is interesting.
This week I ask:
What is my relationship to pain?
Currently I am injured. I did something to my right hip: maybe on a run, maybe in my sleep, maybe while teaching a class. I am not sure how it happened but for the last 6 days I am in constant pain (waking up with it) and I learning a lot. I am exhausted and emotionally vulnerable from it. My compassion for those often or constantly in pain has skyrocketted. I feel so small and weak in comparrison to those who endure so much. I am lucky to have a body that works pretty well most of the time. Moments like this force me to stop and deal with my softer vulnerable side. I hope it passes quickly. Until then I have a lot of material to live and learn from.
Me after 5:30 hours of running on my first marathon. Pain and life together.
May all being be free from suffering and the cuases of suffering. I am trying to be in pain an dnot suffer, but man after 6 days, I am not doing so well. Oh well, I smile, I cry, I grow.
Love and joy,
erinbell
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