You are whole and other truths

In my life, in my work, there is a quote I keep close to my heart:

"As long as you're breathing, there is more right with you than wrong with you, no matter what is wrong with you." - Kabat-Zinn

What does this mean?  It means that divorce, childhood trauma, parenting an oppositional teen, chronic pain, job loss, panic attacks, depression - there is still more right with you than there is wrong.

No matter our history, our successes and failures, we are already whole.  And the courage to be whole, to look at what inside pains the most, to let it exist alongside what brings the greatest joy, that is moment of the greatest potential.

So often people try to hide the parts of themselves they are ashamed of.  They try to ignore their fear.  Stuff their sadness.  We want to be good.  We want to be happy.

And what does volumes of research over decades show?

You want to be happy?  Accept you won't always be happy.  It is impossible.  Want to stop feeling afraid?  Be willing to feel your fear, get into it, and see what its about.  Fear, shame, sadness, it only grows with neglect. 

Embracing who we are, being open to the good and the ugly in each of us, therein lies the wisdom that there is indeed, more right with us than there is wrong with us.

- Rebecca

Resources for Pain

The American Chronic Pain Association is a wealth of resources for people experiencing chronic pain from fibromyalgia, back pain, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, and more. 

Pain is unique in that there need not be any visible signs for pain.  In fact, pain can be encompassing, sometimes it is even difficult for someone experiencing chronic pain to put their experiences into words. 

Within the ACPA's website are various checklists and logs available for anyone to print as a tool for communicating about pain to medical or mental health staff.  The more clearly someone experiencing chronic pain is able to convey their experience of pain, the more likely he or she will be able to receive individualized support and treatment.

If you are experiencing chronic pain, consider checking out resources available to improve your quality of life.
 
You are worth it.

Rebecca