On Pain

I think I can safely say that there is no one among us who has not experienced pain. I say this because there are many kinds of pain, and not all of them are physical. When we think about it, we know that, at the very least, pain involves a disruption in the natural order of things. Any disruption causes discomfort, and this can go all the way from raging hurt in the body to great agitation in the mind when something does not proceed as we would wish.

We inherit a natural order of well being

Let’s sort out a few ideas here. I believe that we as thinking beings are inheritors of a natural order of well being. If we are believers, we accept it as one of the gifts of the Spirit. If we are not, we can see ourselves as a part of nature in action. At any rate when the natural order is disturbed, we experience pain. Anyone who has had a physical operation knows that it is a process to remove disturbances and let the body’s systems have their way again. The elimination of pain brings a return of comfort. Anyone who has borne a child knows that there is pain in the course of birth, but there is the wonderful pay-off of a new baby. People who are in chronic, physical pain, where there is not total elimination on hand, learn to manage it. This takes strength and courage and the determination that their lives will be under their control as much as possible, not waylaid by pain.

We are prisoners of our own thoughts

The pain that begins in the mind can be far more insidious. Enough mental pain will eventually affect the body, but before that happens, the raging discomfort in the mind will have unsettled the one who suffers terribly. Some are deeply troubled by unhealthy upbringings, failed relationships, lost opportunities, and experiences of loss…none of which can be changed. They can only surface in the mind. Memories of the past seem to intrude on the present so that the day is often overlaid by painful thoughts. I have found that these memories and the stories that form around them become very seductive. In a way they become almost like lovers, pulling us away from the things at hand, and they will take us hostage if we let them so that we are prisoners of our own thoughts.

Our minds belong to us

            Let us imagine for a while that the future has no pain. Yesterday’s memories may contain some and sometimes the formations taking place today do, but the future is still ours to shape. Those in chronic, physical pain know the practices before them and have honed their skills. Those in mental pain actually have the best chance of healing because they can choose how they will think and what they will think. Today can be current and full of possibilities. The past does not have to be invited in. Our minds belong to us, and we are the ones who determine whether we live in mental freedom or bondage.