photos by Elaine A. Russell
i have been having problems with some really bad pain for about 3 weeks now... and it is definately wearing me out. emotionally and otherwise. so....as I lay awake trying not to notice it, it got me thinking about all the aspects of pain.
pain is such a subjective thing.
pain is such a subjective thing.
what may be painful for some, is just an annoyance to others. some are so used to chronic pain that nothing phases them. others, every little thing is one more straw that breaks them in two. pain spans the compass from emotional to physical and back again. it is transcendent. it can take you to terrible places, and yet it can also help you to rise above and bask in an altered state. pain can make you feel like you are dying, and it can also make you feel alive.
pain is part of the body's defense system, triggering a reflex reaction to retract from a painful stimulus -- yes, it actually protects us while it is inflicting us at the same time.
pain knows no prejudice. it rains on everyone without distinction. it crosses all barriers, ethnicity, age, and social status.
many great people have commented on pain actually being a gift- to help them towards enlightenment... and yet, it is also seen as punishment.
pain is immeasurable. there is even a problem known as Phantom pain.... pain from a limb that is no longer even there.
there is even Psychogenic pain, pain that is profoundly exacerbated by mental illness.
there is pain that is even preferred by some.. sought out purposefully... to bring pleasure.
pain is individual, and it can be pandemic.
here is a great link on the subject: