Pain and Spirituality

Pain can really drag you down. Chronic pain in particular. It saps your energy and tricks your mind into negative thinking. I always used to think that people who are in pain and still smiling must be brain-dead. There just has to be something wrong with somebody who can be cheerful when they are in pain. You know what I mean? if you've ever been in serious pain for any period of time, you probably do. So how do they really do it? I think one major thing is not feeling sorry for yourself.

And then of course, pain makes you angry. It's frustrating and it wears on you emotionally. It does on me, anyway. When your mind starts yammering on about why is this happening to me, or you're just plain depressed, you have to have some presence of spirit. You have to notice, first of all.

It definitely helps if you have an established spiritual practice. By this I mean you have somewhere else to go, other than your mind and your emotions, both of which will likely become part of the problem, not part of the solution. You have to develop a way of watching what is happening, rather than being blown away by it. A little distance goes a long way toward poise.

When sadness arises, watch it roll in like you're watching waves at the ocean. Just let it wash over you. And if there are tears, let them come. And then they will go. Watch them go. Relax into it. Listen to your mind like you're listening to a friend. Don't judge, just listen. And always have compassion for yourself. The more you love yourself the less you will hurt.

Pain is a circumstance. It is just there to be dealt with. Remember we didn't incarnate into this world to have it all easy and sweet. We are here to be challenged.