Have you ever had those times in life when you have this hyperactive energy - there are so many ideas and things to do buzzing in your head - but at the same time you just feel so physically exhausted? To live in that state for a period of time will result in the energy around you becoming frazzled. You become unproductive. You become frustrated. Your ideas evaporate and your health deteriorates. I know because I have been a regular visitor with VIP membership to that place. The other danger is that you throw up you hands, and simply retreat. You become unproductive. You become frustrated. You find yourself resolved to dissatisfaction with life and contempt with yourself.
Even dragons like to nestle the soles of their feet into the soft warm earth ... to suddenly have on overwhelming need for simple comforts ... especially when they consider how much has to be done and how much training and energy is involved in order to soar.
Today was a good lesson for me on that front. For the last couple of weeks I have been supercharged over various matters, and that emotional state has left me vulnerable. I am still finding my feet as I navigate a whole lot of red tape and bureaucracy, sorting out a range of personal and business affairs. My head has been pounding all day. I don't often get headaches, but when I do, they are not fun. I am not one to run to the medicine cabinet to down a couple of pain killers. Rather, I will tend to sit with the pain for a while to see if it will just go away as my energy shifts. If the pain persists, I am still reluctant to take painkillers because I know that I need to create some time in my day to really consider what is going on and what I need to do to change.
It was a beautiful afternoon, and while I was out and about scouting locations for a major photoshoot tomorrow, I took out some time to just sit in the sun and have a conversation with my headache. I find it beneficial to have a conversation with my aches and pains. Through that reflection, I learned that as the days have gotten colder, I have significantly reduced my daily water intake. Over recent months, I had been quit conscientious about increasing the amount of water I drank everyday. This had fallen by the wayside. New habits and improved behaviours have a tendency of doing that particularly when circumstances change, and we have not linked the new habit to a broad range of situations. So, one of my goals for this week is to get back into the routine of drinking sufficient water each day.
If we rush too quickly to ease the pain, we often miss out on an opportunity to discover something that needs to change in order to support ourselves better. I have a strong belief that pain is often a need that is not being met. Pain serves a purpose. If we understand our pains, we can learn to allow our pains to serve us well rather than become a disservice. It gives the incredible healing potential of our bodies a course of action to remedy itself, if we choose to listen.
There is a danger, though that a pattern of pain becomes our creature comfort ... and although it hurts, it becomes our modus operandi, our comfort zone. When this happens, our pain has surpassed its physical purpose to engage the healing capacities of our bodies, and has become linked to an emotional, psychological, mental or spiritual need. We become addicted to the pain because it gives us other benefits. Sometimes we find it hard to admit the ways in which pain serves us; and it is a conversation that requires ruthless internal honesty. Such patterns of pain and dis-ease can debilitate our desires to soar.
In the coming months I will be able to share with you in more detail the techniques I use to have conversations with pain, and how befriending pain can lead to incredible insights into our power to heal.
Flying Solo Tip 003365 : Pain is a need not being met. Take the time to converse with pain. Pain wants to be of service to you and lead you to wellness, not misery.