A few weeks ago, thanks to an overindulgence in the nectar of the GOD’s ; I spent the entire Christmas Day in bed holding my head and regurgitating the few remains of the delicious Biryani. Am sure I could have thought of better things to do!!
This led me to try and evaluate the meaning of PAIN.
The word PAIN is related to the Greek word Poine which means retribution, vengeance, punishment and penalty. Poine- the goddess of retribution and punishment was closely connected with Praxidike-the “extractor of Justice”. The two pretty much went hand in hand.
If you do the crime…you bloody well do the time!
Pain never happens without a reason, it is invariably a penalty for sins/crimes we may have committed. In my case, I had definitely indulged in my gastronomic liquid passion and abused my liver. Justice was called for and eventually served. With my head inside the toilet bowl, I swore never to touch the silky red liquid from the Rhone Valley. (That promise was kept until New Year’s Eve).
Pain is body’s defense mechanism. Pain alerts us to more serious potential threats, so maybe we should welcome pain….. should we really??? I doubt any one likes pain, so the only solution therefore is to not do the activity that leads to pain.
Each and every pain can be checked if not completely eliminated if we were to just watch our actions and our thinking. Physical pain is a consequence of poor actions and emotional pain is a consequence of poor thinking. Neither can be avoided all the time, but they can surely be brought under conscious control. The adage “No pain no gain” may hold some truth, because it is only after experiencing the pain that we take the initiative to control pain. Till we get sick, we don’t care about our bodies, till we experience heart ache, we don’t care about hurting others, till we experience loss we don’t value what we have.
But does it really have to be that way? Why not try and prevent the pain? By this I don’t mean never to push our bodies or to fall in love for fear of loss. By all means do. Do it with all your heart and passion. Give it all you got, never second guess your decisions. It is the disconnect that arises out of confusion, resentment, hatred, envy, jealousy, anger that leads to the pain. If we are in alignment with the universe, there is no reason for pain. It is only when we decide to go against the flow that we experience pain.
Had I drunk in moderation, I would have had a great time and still been able to enjoy the morning after. It was the hedonism /nihilism that led to my pain.
According to Louise Hay – bestselling author, speaker, and motivational coach- each physical ailment has an emotional bias. It therefore makes sense to control our emotions in order to control our bodies.
If we were to indulge in actions that are uplifting, both for the mind and body, there is no way we will have to suffer in pain. You could however argue that what is uplifting for me is not necessarily uplifting for you, but I think there are some generic criteria that are considered uplifting and some that are considered depressing. (I won’t go about preaching those here).
The premise being, that pain is a penalty for actions undertaken, so if one wants to avoid pain, better not incur the action that may lead to pain.
But if you are a sadist and masochist…who am I to say anything… Enjoy the pain.
PS: I read a legend about a Christian hermit Alexandra who sold her house, shut herself in a tomb and never looked at the outside world again. Her fellow hermit Paul slept on a blanket on the floor of a windowless mud hut and recited 300 prayers every day. He was all content till he heard about another holy man who managed 700 prayers a day and slept in a coffin.
I guess for them Pain was their salvation. I think I shall limit my masochism to a few extra glasses of the red.
Luv/luck/Happiness and a great 2009.
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