Annoyingly Painful…
Those are the two words that my doctor used recently to describe what I was to experience for a few days.
I went to my doctor’s office some time back for what I thought might have been a spider bite on my knee. It was pretty painful and I had big red area spreading up my leg. It turns out that a staph infection had set in and was trying to run up my leg through my lymphatic system. After a short visit, I limped out with a butt full of antibiotics from a shot, a script for some oral antibiotics and some antibiotic cream for the wound.
When I asked how long before I would see some improvement, she told me that my leg would be looking and feeling better by the next day. However, the red tender spots running up my leg would be annoyingly painful for a bit.
“Annoyingly Painful”… Her words stuck with me. I think that those two words are good for describing many of life’s little events.
We all have annoyingly painful things going on in our lives from time to time. Physical things like pulled muscles, mild headaches, sunburns. In my case, this time it was a spider bite. Some of the most annoyingly painful things in life can cause us to forget about our thoughts. Reacting to these events, we spend time worrying that the worst of any situation will happen at any moment.
When the doctor told me that this infection was running up my leg, I could have thought the worst. Maybe it would go straight to my heart. I mean, that was a possibility. I could have thought about how intensely painful this could be. The bite was already hurting. That’s part of what got me to the office in the first place. My body was setting off the alarms and I had to respond.
But, I chose to not think….notice I typed the words not think …..to NOT think that this pain was going to get a lot more severe. Instead, I chose to think about the knowledge that I had just acquired from the office visit.
I’ve known my primary care for almost twenty years. I’ve trusted her since day one. Her earnest in getting this thing under control quickly told me that this was serious stuff. I also knew that I live in a fortunate time when doctors and medicines can do wonders. I was confidant that her diagnosis was correct and that the medications would begin to immediately heal my body.
I left the office with what some call a “knowing“. I just knew that I was already getting better. I felt relieved and more relaxed. All was to be well.
Remember, I could have not stopped to think and simply reacted to this situation. More anxiety, a faster heart rate and higher blood pressure would surely have been a few of the side effects that would come with that mindset.
Not all life’s painful times are the result of physical issues. Suffering, stress and worry can appear from heartache with a loved one, worry for a child, or just plain “everything that can go bad in my life is here and now it’s ruining my life”.
By forgetting to stop and think, we each may be headed for more and more of the same repetitive cycle of worry and pain.
OR…………………….
We can choose to pause and think. We can look for whatever signs of hope that there are in the situation. Search and analyze all of the information. Try to keeps the emotions at bay and repeatedly look for the positive. We must develop that “knowing” that all will be well. It is then that we can honestly say that this pain that we are going through is just a little annoyingly painful.
Namaste,
Dave
P.S. Have you had any annoyingly painful situations that you would like to share? Perhaps a little inspiration for all of us?
