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R E A D I N GTACKLING THE L ISTS
Today we focus on the lifestyle which will keep you out of pain for the
rest of your life, if you are willing to follow the directions on the box.
Pretend we are going to bake a cake. Yay! Let’s begin. Let’s also
pretend that you are me, and we are not going to attempt this from
scratch (sorry to those master bakers out there!) We are going for
some delicious moist yellow variety we found in the grocery store
baking aisle. So, what is the first step? I’d say we should read the
directions on the box and then gather the ingredients, right? So, we
take a look, and the recipe calls for the cake mix, 2 eggs, a 1/4 cup of oil,
a stick of butter and some water. Great we are all set.
Now, someone helping us has an idea. Upon realizing that we don’t
have any eggs in the house and thinking what a nuisance it would be to
run to the store, she suggests that maybe it would be okay if we just
leave out the eggs? I mean, they’re small and how important could they
be? This helper suggests it’s not such a big deal to just bake our cake
without them. Then another voice chimes in. He says, NO! Eggs are
important, but it’s really silly to bake the cake for a whole 30 minutes.
That’s too long, and he’s hungry. Let’s use all the ingredients, but let’s
just bake it for ten minutes and then eat it.
A third helpful soul speaks up. She thinks that the idea of baking for ten
minutes is ridiculous. The cake won’t even be a cake yet!
FREEDOM FROM CHRONIC PAIN | © 2016 NICOLE SACHS
She does, however, have her own thought: There is no need to butter
the pan. That’s annoying. It gets the butter all over her fingers and
stains her clothes. Let’s just pour the mix in the pan right away and get
on with it…
Allow me to translate this silly scenario.
The cake is your painfree life, big and beautiful and shiny and delicious.
And that is possible for you, but only if you follow the directions on the
box. I know how hard it is to face your history, your struggles in life, and
your personality which challenges you at every turn. I know how
tempting it is once you’ve begun this process to convince yourself that
you are fine with journaling, but really only a couple times a week. Or
you are happy to look at your issues, but you are not going to think
about your mother. Nope. Anything but that. Or, you don't mind
addressing your past, but it will simply stress you too much to ponder
the way you feel stuck in your marriage. That will not fly, and you just
KNOW it will make you feel worse.
I hear you, and I get it. And trust me, I have been there and I know it can
and will make you feel worse in moments to look at this stuff. Yet, as
we’ve discussed a million times, these thoughts and feelings are
operating within you whether you acknowledge them or not. That tree
falls in the forest every moment of every day, and your body is
screaming for you to listen. The recipe for a painfree life is here, but all
the ingredients are necessary to achieve it. Even when it’s inconvenient.
Even when it takes longer than you’d like. Even when it gets a little
messy.
FREEDOM FROM CHRONIC PAIN | © 2016 NICOLE SACHS
Here’s the best part: You can do this! There is rarely a person incapable
of looking at themselves. It’s just hard, and I always highlight this over
and over in order to cut your resistance off at the pass. I know the
excuses which jump into my own mind despite my best thinking. It’s the
human condition, and we are both human beings. But we can try, and
even when we falter we can try again. I stand, as always, as your
biggest cheerleader and your greatest sympathizer. Having said this, go
get to work and heal your pain!
FREEDOM FROM CHRONIC PAIN | © 2016 NICOLE SACHS