Minor Wounds
How many times have you bumped your head on a branch you knew was there but somehow failed to avoid? Or stubbed your toe on something? Or got your clothing caught on a doorknob and had it yank you back when you tried to get away?
I live in the belief that the world is a metaphor, and that I attract the events of my life to me by my thoughts and actions. In that case, what are these things telling me? Firstly, and most obviously, Pay More Attention.
Yes, but what else? Is it a reflection of some subtle undermining thoughts I am having? Something self-destructive? Do I think I deserve these injuries on some level? Nothing too major, but just small, perhaps inconvenient pains. Perhaps on some level I wanted this injury, especially if it gives me an excuse not to do something I didn’t want to do.
Of course, you could go on forever, analysing every little thing that happens to you, searching for a meaning for it all. If something is obvious, that’s great. If not, perhaps the answer will come in time, or not. The most prudent question to ask about anything (and you don’t have to believe in any higher purpose at all) is this: “What can I learn from this?”
Many things can be gained from asking such a question about such small injuries. Perhaps you could stand to flow with life better. If your toe hurts to put weight on it, and you usually play football at the weekend, you can use it to do something different, to expand your horizons and do something else. Or to watch from the sidelines and experience a different kind of football experience. Perhaps you can learn patience, letting your body heal at its own pace, and if there are things you want to do that you now cannot because of the pain, be content with that, and use it as an opportunity to grow patient. Perhaps you could use the pain to teach you about the nature of pain, and how to effectively deal with pain while at the same respecting what the pain is telling you. Perhaps you could use it as an opportunity to bring love to your body instead of hating it for being injured.
I’ll leave you with a quote from a book by Dan Millman, called Way Of The Peaceful Warrior:
A warrior doesn’t seek pain, but if it comes, he uses it.
My hopes for you then, if pain comes, be it minor or major, are that you use it to grow stronger, wiser, happier and more loving.