At some point in our lives we experience pain. Living with physical or emotional pain is part of the journey of being human. And when pain refuses to go away, we strive to reduce it or move through our lives despite the pain. Most of us are looking for one button to push, one pill to take, or a single change to make to fix it. The truth is that it is not easy when pain has taken up residence in our lives. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, no single key, no quick fix. Our guest today has lived with chronic pain over a long period of time and she can attest to the fact that when we create a new relationship with our bodies, our emotions, our minds, and our spirit, our healing can truly unfold. She talks about the timetable of pain: “We try to force pain to follow our timetable and it just won’t. Sometimes we have short-term pain and things heal on a schedule and that’s really great. We sprain an ankle or break a bone and we know that it’s going to heal. That’s the kind of pain that can be intense but it is different from chronic, long-term pain which is a pain that won’t leave, a pain that can morph and spread through your whole experience and your whole body.” She suggests that trying to approach pain with the idea of fighting it, stopping it. and labeling it as bad may not be an effective way to deal with it. She says, “You’re kind of locking it into place . . . I’d rather see us move away from the sense of pain as an enemy, something to be killed and stopped. [I don’t mean you must] love pain or enjoy it.” She recommends going to the place where you say: “Okay, pain has shown up. It’s already here. What is it? What is its purpose?” Tune in to this dialogue and discover wisdom from someone who continues to deal with long-term pain.
