Our physical body is prone to illness and many a times pain is inevitable. While pain in any part of the body can be really discomforting and you wouldn’t even want to think of it, it doesn’t hurt as much if you don’t let it become a ‘suffering’. There is something interesting about physical pain that can get you some mental gain…..you don’t believe me right?? But just think of the time when you were experiencing some kind of physical pain that was bearable yet consistent and it lasted for an hour or a day or maybe a week. Did you notice that while you were experiencing that discomfort, you momentarily forgot about many of the things that were bothering you since many days? Din’t you just ignore those problems that couldn’t let you sleep at night as trivial and not as important at the moment as it were to get rid of the pain?? Yes, you did and that’s what pain sometimes does…..it brings your attention completely to the present moment and all you want at that moment is to be healthy and free of pain, nothing else matters that much. Your mind that was occupied with hundreds of thoughts is now just centered on one thought. This small pause in between the thoughts can be really comforting if we are able to extend it to the period when the pain has left the body. This uncluttered space is a gift that the pain has given you, it’s the space for self introspection, space for resetting the priorities and space to experience a sense of calm.

The pain in my body that I endure,

isn’t just suffering but much more.

It connects me to my deeper self,

that tricks me like a mischievous elf.

It cuts me off from the pleasure outside,

and shuns my dreams of wealth and pride.

Those urgent assignments, those meetings on Zoom,

mean nothing when flowers of pain bloom.

I just wish to be hale and heart again,

nothing matters more than the end of this pain.

That emptiness and that lack of chaos,

brings me a much needed moment of pause.

And when I get back to my original state,

I rejoice the discovery of my ‘blank slate’