Joy is the by-product of kindness. . . Isn’t it?

I have quoted Mother Teresa on many occasions, here and elsewhere.  She expressed so many wonderful hints for peaceful living.  Using her words as guideposts for a life well lived would make sense, on the very personal level and certainly on the global level in these troubled times.  And currently, I am relying on this suggestion because I have been “missing the joy” that is so commonly mine.  What has interfered is the struggle I am having with chronic pain.

My condition isn’t life-threatening, so I tend to pass it off as unimportant.  And when I look at the condition many of my friends and acquaintances are forced to live with daily, it isn’t all that important.  But it does grab my attention way too often and every time it does, I feel robbed of the joy that could be mine.  There is a solution, however.  And it’s one that’s so simple.  Every time I get a jab of pain in my head and neck, I can use that opportunity to smile at a passer-by or say “hello” to God.  Either of these responses to the pain will help to make this world a better place to inhabit.  My mind will be off of the pain too, for that moment at least.

My pain is the result of degenerative disc disease.  It’s not going to go away but there are treatments.  I am in the middle of a series of shots currently that I hope will give me relief for up to a year.  But in the mean time, I will try to enjoy the many times I get to smile at a stranger and remember God during a day, times I might have been caught in the pain with little more on my mind.

It’s interesting to look at pain from this vantage point, I think.  It gives it a purpose that’s far grander than simply feeling the pain and being sorry for myself.  Life is far too precious to be swallowed up by pain, at least the pain I have.  It’s not unbearable.  It’s pretty constant, however.  It’s been the result of a my work, actually.  Sitting at a computer for years, with head bent so that I could see the keyboard, left its mark.  I am not going to quite writing.  I am learning to live with chronic pain.  As so many others do.  And every time I get a stab of pain, I will consider it God calling and smile at the next person I see.  Makes sense to me.  How about you?