No Brain, No Pain... No Sense, No Feeling!

I am in pain! Why? I have no idea. My lower back is aching and the pain is shooting down my leg. It kept me up most of the night. So that you won't call me a whiner, I stop my wimpering.

I will say this though, in my hours of being awake, I have had much time to think about pain.

Pain tells me 2 things. 1. I am alive - dead people feel nothing. 2. There is something wrong. What is interesting though is that lack of pain does not mean I am dead, nor does it mean there is nothing wrong. Let me explain.

Two weeks ago, I was kicked in the shin by a 9 year old (I know I shouldn't have been playing soccer, but I have yet to grow up), and it hurt - actually it still does. I have no idea what he kicked, but instantly I had a bubble of blood inside my skin, and my foot was purple for almost a solid week. The interesting part is that it was my right leg he kicked.

You see, 4 years ago, I broke my ankle, and after 3 months of trying to recover without going back to the doctor (the original x-rays said it was not broken) I had foot surgery on my right foot. Now 4 years later, I have yet to feel the outside of my foot. No pain, but obviously something is wrong.

Two years later, as I was diving into third base (yes, another stupid sports injury), I apparently damaged some nerve in my right hip that has caused numbness in my outer thigh on my right side. Are you starting to get the picture?? Numb foot, numb thigh, connected by a very painful shin, and now surrounded by unexplained pain in the parts I can feel!!

I lack pain in both the foot and thigh, so I must be conscious of what I do. I have cut myself without feeling it. I have twisted my ankle, and wondered if I did any harm. No Pain! Some might think it would be wonderful (at this moment I wish it were true of my newest ailment), however, the pain acts as an informer to tell me of the problems I am having.

I could choose to take pain medicines to deaden the pain, but without dealing with the underlying cause, I would be doing my body a major disservice.

When you live devoid of pain (obviously I am not referring exclusively to physical pain here) - make sure you take some time to evaluate whether it is a result of things working correctly, or if it is the result of numbness, callousedness, or death. If you marriage, your relationships, your daily routine are void of any pain, you might be doing really well - or - you might be "numbing yourself" from the problems that you should be experiencing.

On the contrary, when pain comes your way (again, not just physical pain), evaluate it, embrace it for the value that it brings - it reminds you that you are alive, and that something is wrong - and then make the appropriate changes that allow you to move through the pain. Don't run - sometimes the pain is good. Don't ignore it - if something is still wrong it will not just go away. Do not seek to just endure it, although you may have to for a short period. Move into pain to find out what you need to learn from it, how you can grow through it, and what you can share with others as a result. Allow pain to be a teacher, a motivator, and an encouragement to move into the pain of others.

Back to today's pain, will I go to the doctor??
Maybe - if it gets bad enough, for long enough.

In the mean time...