Dr. Laura Schlessinger in Stop Whining, Start Living (© 2008) says that most people underestimate their ability to face pain (p 7).
We think of ourselves as wimpier than we even are. One reason is because we're surrounded by advertising that encourages us to eliminate pain at its first sign. Don't live with it at any cost.
But as Dr. Laura points out, "sadness, fear, disappointment, embarrassment, loss, frustration, etc., are just a part of normal life, and need to be endured as a feeling, and appropriated with solutions, if possible."
Is it really in our best interest to eradicate normal, but painful, parts of life?
I live with pain. Some physical, some emotional. I'd rather not.
But a little pain isn't an immediate reason to reach for the medicine cabinet. In fact, a little pain has life lessons--compassion for others, appreciation for when you have no pain, indication for a problem you need to address before it becomes bigger pain,...
[Hmm...reminds me of a great book I read a few years back: "Pain: the Gift Nobody Wants" by Philip Yancey and Paul Brand. Maybe I'll recycle around to read it in again in the next few months.... I highly recommend it.]
