Friday, January 2, 2015

A New Year’s Resolution with Pain by Celeste Cooper


 http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Body-Wounded-Spirit-Balancing/dp/0615924050/

My body aggravated, confused by physical tests,
But pain lacks capacity to conquer my best.
Dear pain, for you, is a New Years request.

Don’t cloud my wits—attack, bother, or nag.
My mind won’t accept what it is that you add.
There will be consequences when you are bad.

I am mindful of judgments you propose to my ear.
In positivity, a spirit is absent of fear,
Affirmation awakens to all I hold dear.

Don’t threaten my spirit; make me weary or weak,
Negotiate no limits from my head to my feet.
Courage smuggled into the light, your defeat.

No blind expectations pain, we are akin,
But mind—spirit nurtures what resides in this skin.  
So it is with resolve that this New Year begins.



HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Adversity if only an obstacle if we fail to see opportunity."
Celeste Cooper, PainPathways Magazine, Inspiring Moments, Winter 2014-2015

2 comments:

dogkisses said...

I love your poem Celeste.

I know about acceptance and practice this in my thought processes. I feel a shift when I'm consciously accepting something difficult, but when it comes to pain, the mere thought of meditating with it gives me near panic.

I have to get nerve studies done next week and that's giving me anxiety, big time! I guess I could try accepting that this is what is best? I have decided the thumb and hand pain is at a point that I am ready to address it, but the idea of the studies and surgery are scary.

Thanks for sharing and for your insightful responses.

Warmly,
Michelle (Rosa B).

The Pained Ink Slayer said...

TY Michelle. I agree, it is difficult to be aware of pain and not judge it, just that it is there, no recrimination on how it affects quality of life. We can however, boost those other seats on the 4 seated teeter totter (mind-emotions-spirit) focus on positives. Finding opportunity (positive) in adversity (negative) is like turning lemons into lemonade. It's not easy, it takes practice and even then we fall off the wagon. I have to be reminded to, sometimes remind myself, but again, without judgement.

Internal dialogue, Oh, I could have done that better, I haven't meditated enough. Reality, we learn from mistakes, it is better to say, I will act on it right now rather than judge it.

Hope this makes sense.

Celeste's Website

Celeste's Website
Click on the picture