Pain~ Just an Experience

I was gifted with a new pair of sneakers. I walk every morning and new sneakers are a big deal, so I was excited to put them to good use.

Midway through my first walk I started to notice an annoying pain on my heal. The shoe was cutting into my skin and there was a big blood stain on my brand new pretty pair of sneakers.

No big deal. Sometimes it takes a few days to break in a pair of shoes, right? So I continued to wear them every day. And every day, the same results. I couldn’t seem to stretch the shoes out enough to stop cutting into my heal.

This gave me the opportunity to contemplate pain. I noticed how the pain was intense at certain times and it distracted me from enjoying my walk. And then at other times the pain was barely anything I could feel at all.

It made me think about other times we experience pain, both physical, emotional or psychological. I noticed how when I’m in pain, it’s all encompassing. It feels like it will never end. It’s bloody and messy and ugly. This is where I could get stuck. I could allow the pain to engulf me, swallow me whole, identify and label me. I’ve experienced the results of this- it shows up as depression, frustration and anger.

So how do I avoid falling into this trap? Faith.

I remind myself that pain is just an experience, just like any other experience. And just like any other experience, it’s transitory. If I can hold in that belief- allow myself the full expression of the pain, well then- I know the healing can begin.

Because with grief, sadness, anxiety or physical pain, eventually the wound does heal. And the scab thickens and eventually disappears and there’s only a scar or memory where the wound once lived.

If I rush the healing process, I can cause the scab to rip off and I’ve set my healing back a few more days. So patience is important too.

And sometimes, you just have to get rid of the shoes that are causing the pain in the first place and step away from the pain. That’s a hard thing to do when they’re new and shiny and pretty. But ultimately, trusting that there’s something better out there will allow the healing to occur in it’s own natural time.

So I waited, nurtured my heal and it… healed! Then I bought myself a new pair of pretty, shiny shoes that don’t hurt my heal. And I’m back to enjoying my walks again, pain-free.

So where are you experiencing pain in your life? Have you allowed yourself the time to move through the pain and given yourself enough time to heal? And what steps can you take to nurture yourself through the painful times? Where can you ask for support? And where can you let go?

Give it a go! There may be something shiny, new and pretty waiting for you.

In loving,

Sarah