I recently slipped in a muddy field which would have been no more than an embarrassment, had my hand not slid into a hole.
It was instantly obvious that I had damaged my tissues by the pain which throbbed continuously although there was initially nothing to see of any injury.
As Moshe Feldenkrais said..how lucky we are to experience pain as it guides us to stop, to modify or to avoid any further movements which would cause even greater problems. Well actually I can’t say I thought that at the time. But it has drawn my attention again now to
(1) the wonder of our being, and (2)to how we can mess it up.
Demands that we keep going, that old “no pain, no gain” motto, people constantly on the go, paying less and less attention to themselves and getting distracted by all the gizmos. I can’t help wondering where it will all end. Whilst I recognise the advantages of many of our tools in this rapidly technological age, and wouldn’t be without e-mail and my computer, I am pained by the growing attachment to all these objects. I often fear that as we continue in this rush of “progress”, there is an underlying injury that will eventually surface and will need to be nurtured. I guess only time will tell.
For myself, I am choosing certain times to be computer free. I know I frustrate many people by hardly switching on my mobile. I know I am going to have to participate in social media networks but so far I have been a dinosaur about it. I am wondering if I can listen to my “pain” and let it show me the way to improve, to create that balance of joining in sufficiently to benefit but not so much that I lose the values of life I cherish.
As Moshe says…Be aware- so that you can make a choice before you make a decision