| Living With Guidance: Happy Pain |
| Written by Talyaa Liera | |||
| Saturday, 22 May 2010 15:36 | |||
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[Blog (Non-channeled) May]
I’m being a little dramatic, but my week has been like that. Monday my doctor got to see the gaping hole he created in my foot. I warned him about my intolerance for pain. I did warn him. Several times. Matthew held my hand while the dressing came off. My pain was worse than any time before, but underneath my painsounds I could hear my doctor exclaiming happily. “It looks great! Wow! This is great!” Great? He wasn’t used to seeing this much healing, this quickly. “The pain is a good sign,” he assured me. “Happy pain.” Happy pain? That was a new way to look at it. My body had been so successful (and a little frustrated) in healing that the pain was a sign of how well things were working. “Want to have surgery tomorrow?” my doctor offered, like he was handing me a slice of cake. I was assured that the surgery to cover the hole in my foot would heal easily and with far less pain. That things were already in such good condition that the healing would go well. I might feel a sting for a while on the skin grafting donor site but that would be nothing compared to what I had been through. Happy pain. So that’s what I’ve been doing. Resting a lot. Taking my meds. Meditating. And resting more. I got home the afternoon of the second surgery. I hadn’t had time to tell many people beforehand, so I made a round of calls to let people know what was going on. “How do you feel?” they asked. “Complete.” And it’s true. While my journey begun is still in its infancy, something has come to completion. A new phase has begun. Next week I’ll ease back into working, taking everything with me that I’ve learned so far, not just from the cancer but from living. Happy pain. There is something to take away from that phrase. I can feel it, a little glimmer of understanding. We shy away from pain and resist it. We are hardwired to do so and there is no shame in that. Pain is there for a reason. But if we can look behind it, there is something more. Not a reason for the pain, perhaps (we overthink things anyway), but a different way of looking at the message.
Next time (I'm not wishing for a next time exactly, but I am excited about the prospect of working with this concept) I would talk with my body. It would be a partnership; I believe that's how we are designed. This partnership would together create the experience. It doesn't have to be painful, not if you are working together. I had all kinds of help with healing, but did I check in with my body on that? It has its own inner wisdom. I could have worked in closer partnership with it. I'll be expanding this concept over time, but these are the beginnings. There is always something to learn if you look. Happy pain. 
Related Articles Comments (4)
  written by Julie, May 22, 2010
So glad to hear you've an elevated sense of well being, Rush Limbaugh did that for a while but screwed it up by not giving it a name "Happy Pain". La La La LOVE you (Pixies, old school) and so glad to read you are finding new ways to live with your body, that is so cool. You are a miracle of healing, much like William who's finger is pretty much healed too! You must both have a bit of the healing gene. Talk to me soon, and tell me more about the graft, I would love to hear about it! (I am medically insane and need to know gross details)
Keep on healing well and if you find you don't need your Happy Pain I am still here with open arms.. Love, Julie 
 written by TheGirlPie, May 23, 2010
What a wonderful Doctor, to announce that great discovery -- that story will affect my own practice, thanks so much.
It's GREAT to see you coming to an understanding that I was lucky to be raised with: pain doesn't have to be bad, talking to the pain helps, pain is both the heat of warning and the energy of progress. YAY for healing! And reading your lovely writing about discovering that the body's our best partner is so so gratifying to me, somehow. It makes such sense, thought of as a partnership, doesn't it? With all the push/pull/syncing that comes with a team: from "like-minded crime-fighting duo," to "good cop/bad cop at odds" -- but my Dad put it like this: If I'm the Knight in shining armor then my body is my Trusty Steed! It has instincts and senses and ancient knowledge and a connection to nature that I don't have, yet my Steed carries Me and serves Me with all it is... grounded (4 feet!) but able to leap wide chasms, it learns from and takes direction from Me when cared for diligently, but my Steed fights Me if I try to lead it into trouble... And yes, I must elbow-grease my armor myself and cast off unnecessary baggage, and yes, we need rest and repair before/during/after journeys and battles and parades (and letting the kiddies play on our backs!) But we're a Team, my body and me. Exploring Knight and trusty Steed. So PLEASED that you feel whole now. How KIND of you to share this. Ride on ~ ! Your pal, ~GirlPie  written by J. Thomas, June 27, 2010
Thank you for this nugget of wisdom!! HAPPY PAIN is something different for me - like when you spoke of HEALING SHAME while seeing SHAME AS A PROCESS.
This is another one of those pages where you are sharing what you learn with us as you grow and I want to say that you're on a ROLL!! - J. Thomas Write comment
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Last time you and I talked, I was pondering shoulds and control issues and was summoning the powers of my white rhinoceros. That was days ago. So long ago. You know how everything changes, sometimes, in an instant? One moment the world is THIS way, and the next, because of a bus crash or something that came in the mail or just a simple phrase whispered in your ear, the world is something completely new, something you never could have imagined before that moment.
I could have talked to my body more, perhaps. This is something to learn from next time, if there ever is a next time. I know I still have trouble thinking of my body as anything but an adversary, so I was reluctant to truly go in to its experience. But my body was telling me something. Happy pain.
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The body does have its own wisdom, yes. I'm so glad you've found this, and so happy to hear you sounding well and on the mend. I'm a little curious how it was discovered you had melanoma on your foot (mine is going to be cut out of my forehead on Tuesday ... owie). But cancer is such a crazy thing ... seemingly with a mind of its own (and yes, even still, the body has a wisdom, and the desire is always for wellness).
Looking forward to hearing more of your journey, and always, closing with well-wishes.
Temmie