I remember reading once that relaxing during a vehicle collision would lessen the probability of injury, or even death. While there is some dispute around that particular fact, relaxing when we least want to has been an important reminder these past two weeks.
I’ve been experiencing an extremely high level of physical pain lately. A severe systemic nervous system inflammation, followed by another very inflamed back tooth, has led to feeling elevated pain day in and day out. While this is not something I would wish to prolong, and there’s no sugarcoating the rawness, it has forced me to become very embodied. When painkillers make only a dent, there’s no running away from the experience. There’s no way of distracting oneself, and, while it’s exhausting, it’s also very grounding.
We can become so used to resisting pain when it arises, whether emotional or physical, and often without even realizing that we’re doing it. We instantly label it as wrong. Often we blame ourselves. But what if we relaxed into the pain? What if it became a neutral experience? This does not mean ignoring the message. I definitely went to the dentist for my tooth. It means relaxing enough to hear what our body is telling (or shouting at) us, to be with ourselves in a softer way when there’s no instant fix.