What a Pain

Recently I've been thinking a lot about pain. This could be due to the fact that I have two hours of muscle screaming, lung bursting swim practice every day, rendering me pretty useless and half asleep for a good part of the day. But, in any event its gotten me thinking about pain in a more general sense.

I think it's absolutely incredible how the body and mind work together and parallel each other in the way they work. Under physical exercise and pain, the body cracks, literally creating micro-tears in the muscles. Under stress and exhaustion the mind weakens and confusion sets in. Under deep emotional scarring we are shaken to the core with grief. And I'm about to make a pretty bold statement considering pain brings on confusion, scarring, and bodily harm (yes small, but think back to how your back felt after lifting that box that was just a little too heavy). I think all of this pain is better for us than if we had never felt any of it. Let's quickly take a look back at those shoulder-paralyzing practices and see that its exercise; it makes my body more fit and in shape and in general I'm healthier for the struggle that it is.

I'm certain the same must be true for our mental and spiritual capacities. Mental toughness is a phrase often thrown around in circles of academia. It refers to the ability to handle enigmas (both social and intellectual) and deal with them until they are worked through and solved, no matter how difficult it is or how long it may take. The mind might crack, but does not break, in a sense. Finally, spiritual growth must come from conflict, from struggle, from pain. John Milton writes in his Areopagitica that "Adam fell into of knowing good and evil, that is to say, of knowing good by evil." He's describing the conflict that man is presented with spiritually and is saying for all the evil that we see every day, it is a thing that makes us recognize how vital is that which is good. And for all the evil in the world, it led to the greatest good of having a perfect man walk among us on this earth. Another poet, George Herbert, says in his poem "The Pulley" that "If goodness lead him not / Weariness may toss him to my breast." Pain, anguish they bring us relationships, connections--perfect or otherwise.

I think people too often run from what is troubling or painful. They want happy lives and carefree consciences. To accomplish this they run or they stand on their own two feet--alone. My assertion is this, accept what pain may come in life, for it inevitably will. Lean into the punch as it were and take the force of it. You will probably fall down, and you definitely will get your share of TKO's, but this is life. The best part about getting knocked out is having someone else wake you up, some one else dress the wounds. You lean into the punch and you're not running on your own any more. You might be black and blue, but bruises heal...with each punch there's another set of hands helping you stand up, take the courage to reach out and grab those hands. Pretty soon you'll have an army behind you.

Like my swim team says, "Embrace the challenge; love the pain."