Kevin's Watch

Good morning, pain.
I thank you because you let me know that I am alive.
You make me grateful to be able to do what I can do.
You move me to disciplines I might neglect without you.
Because of you, I stretch and move and bend my muscles, and these things make me stronger.
You remind me that life is a challenge to be met, not a free ride.
You are a fierce angel on my shoulder.
You are my worthy opponent.

Today, you will not defeat me.
I know there have been days when you struck me down.
But today is not like that.
Today I move and speak and love and teach.
Today I am thankful, because
I am your worthy opponent.

****
I suffer from chronic pain which comes in many forms. Many, most, mornings, I wake up hurting. This condition has driven me to do things to try to feel better, or at least to be stronger; things I may have not otherwise have been motivated to do. Although I would rather feel great all the time, I can be thankful for what gifts it has given me.

<oops, duplicate post>

There's something about pain (and maybe this belongs in the Close...) that is attractive, addictive, and also ... painful. My son has experienced this sensation, as I did at a younger age. He does 11 hours of gymnastics per week, and comes home with blisters, aches and pains, and exhaustion. But he finds it invigorating, as I did at his age, it makes him feel like he's achieving. It's an important life lesson - to feel pain is not necessarily always a negative.

On the other hand, there is the pain of chronic recurrence, not based on physical activity, which I think might be your situation Deer? It is still a reminder though, and your approach is of a challenge, not a fight, perhaps a reminder of life's blessings? This year, for me, has brought a bunch of life's pains, mainly mental, and really challenged my resolve. In some ways, if one can get through some of these challenging pains, the appreciation is all the greater. Or something like that - I've never been that good at articulating what I'm trying to say (and this site makes me feel even more inferior ), so I'll leave it at that...

deer of the dawn wrote:Good morning, pain.
I thank you because you let me know that I am alive.
You make me grateful to be able to do what I can do.
You move me to disciplines I might neglect without you.
Because of you, I stretch and move and bend my muscles, and these things make me stronger.
You remind me that life is a challenge to be met, not a free ride.
You are a fierce angel on my shoulder.
You are my worthy opponent.

Today, you will not defeat me.
I know there have been days when you struck me down.
But today is not like that.
Today I move and speak and love and teach.
Today I am thankful, because
I am your worthy opponent.

****
I suffer from chronic pain which comes in many forms. Many, most, mornings, I wake up hurting. This condition has driven me to do things to try to feel better, or at least to be stronger; things I may have not otherwise have been motivated to do. Although I would rather feel great all the time, I can be thankful for what gifts it has given me.

Thank you so much for that great reminder that even some of the uncomfortable things in life can be a blessing in disguise, Deer! Your poem is quite wise, in my opinion.

StevieG wrote:There's something about pain (and maybe this belongs in the Close...) that is attractive, addictive, and also ... painful. My son has experienced this sensation, as I did at a younger age. He does 11 hours of gymnastics per week, and comes home with blisters, aches and pains, and exhaustion. But he finds it invigorating, as I did at his age, it makes him feel like he's achieving. It's an important life lesson - to feel pain is not necessarily always a negative.

On the other hand, there is the pain of chronic recurrence, not based on physical activity, which I think might be your situation Deer? It is still a reminder though, and your approach is of a challenge, not a fight, perhaps a reminder of life's blessings? This year, for me, has brought a bunch of life's pains, mainly mental, and really challenged my resolve. In some ways, if one can get through some of these challenging pains, the appreciation is all the greater. Or something like that - I've never been that good at articulating what I'm trying to say (and this site makes me feel even more inferior ), so I'll leave it at that...

Seems to me you've articulated it all quite well, StevieG! Cheers!!!

Cord Hurn wrote:

StevieG wrote:There's something about pain (and maybe this belongs in the Close...) that is attractive, addictive, and also ... painful. My son has experienced this sensation, as I did at a younger age. He does 11 hours of gymnastics per week, and comes home with blisters, aches and pains, and exhaustion. But he finds it invigorating, as I did at his age, it makes him feel like he's achieving. It's an important life lesson - to feel pain is not necessarily always a negative.

On the other hand, there is the pain of chronic recurrence, not based on physical activity, which I think might be your situation Deer? It is still a reminder though, and your approach is of a challenge, not a fight, perhaps a reminder of life's blessings? This year, for me, has brought a bunch of life's pains, mainly mental, and really challenged my resolve. In some ways, if one can get through some of these challenging pains, the appreciation is all the greater. Or something like that - I've never been that good at articulating what I'm trying to say (and this site makes me feel even more inferior ), so I'll leave it at that...

Seems to me you've articulated it all quite well, StevieG! Cheers!!!

*agrees*

You may be very right about that, Stevie. As much as I hate driving in Nigeria (where there are no rules, only reflexes), I realized a few years ago that there was a part of my brain seeking out those adrenalin-laced near misses and dodges. And since I already knew that I had signs of adrenal exhaustion, I needed to chill out and slow down and take it easy. It was harder than I thought! There is a wicked pleasure in preventing someone from passing you on the right by just insinuating yourself a little too close to the other car for their comfort... and when I was younger I knew I was addicted to drama, which led to a relationship that almost killed me (as in, weapons involved). Healing from addiction, through prayer and just getting older and not caring about drama anymore (now it's like, spare me) changed that. But yes, it is funny the things we can get addicted to. I don't need pain to feel significant, and I am grateful when I am pain-free occasionally, or like this morning, woke up hurting but my yoga routine took care of it. Yay!