Let me fix your pains!

I'm going to wax philosophical... again. But its fun, right?

I want to talk about pain. I don't want to be melodramatic or emo, but I feel like I've experienced several different types of pains close together: spiritual, emotional, and physical. I have fixed all the pains (YAY!) and so I thought it was interesting how each different type is cured.

PHYSICAL:
So when I came home from Texas I was almost instantly debilitated by sharp pains in my lower back and down my legs. We think it was from carrying two 49-pound checked bags and my two carry-ons just full of books and shoes. Makes sense, right? Anyways, I was basically watching movies for a week because I couldn't walk or stand. PATHETIC.

So now I'm doing physical therapy. Basically everyday I have to do these stretches or I will have pain. But none of the stretches actually have to do with my back, in fact most of them have to do with stretching out my tight hamstrings and quads. I also corrected my posture so I don't put all my weight on my lower back anymore.

Summary: Sharp physical pain is fleeting but overwhelming. You can't directly fix the problem, you have to fix lots of little things without seeing results immediately.

EMOTIONAL:
My hairdresser accidentally dyed my hair RED when I asked for blonde. When I came home I just cried. It was one of those situations where I was crying because I was mad at myself for being so upset about my hair. I mean, its just hair! But I didn't feel like ME. Chantel Ruby Laser was meant to be a BLONDE, not a ginger.

Solution? I just had to cry it out, realize I was more than my hair. It was fixable. The world was NOT over. Just take a deep breath, let it all out, and continue with life.

Summary: Emotional pain doesn't make sense. It's just frustrating when we can't control our emotions. Get out the bad emotions all at once, because holding them in makes it worse.

SPIRITUAL:
Well, there's no way to describe it. When you aren't doing everything you are supposed to be doing, a part of you kind of dies. It's a slow process, and sometimes you don't even realize it until months later that there is a problem. There's a hole, an empty space, and as much as you try to fill it with something else that hole is always there.

What's amazing is that as soon as you decide and take action to pick up regular habits again, you INSTANTLY feel better. That empty space is immediately filled and you realize what you've been missing and don't want to go back.

Summary: Spiritual pain is caused by several little forgotten things piled on top of each other to the point where you collapse. But it is treated by simply choosing to turn around and get back on the path. Its instant and lasting.

Overall? All kinds of pain can knock you out if you aren't careful. But the common thread between all of them is you have to recognize them, and be willing to change in order to fix them.