Par·a·digm: a model or pattern for something that may be copied: a theory or a group of ideas about how something should be done, made, or thought about.

This poem is an exploration of how I was raised to deal with/ NOT deal with my emotional pain. I don’t pretend to have answers… But I sure as hell have a lot of questions! And I guess a few suggestions too 🙂

I’ll put some links under this poem if you want to poke around the internet for writings about cultural perceptions of pain.

When one lives in a paradigm that does not resonate with their truth, there is a collision. The mind is caught in an epic battle of perception. I feel the craziest when living in a paradigm that doesn’t suit me or my intuitive understandings. The paradigm that much of western culture lives within tends to drown my reality. and my experiences do not get honored or processed. My truth gets pushed away and suppressed… sometimes intentionally oppressed.

 

What to do with Pain?

I was born into a group of cynics, trained to deny.

Get mad when you laugh, laugh when you cry.

With no idea where right and wrong came from,

I never knew what to do so I grew numb.

But I’ve stopped taking their Novocain,

and although its brought back the pain,

I’d rather that than be insane,

because what’s the sun without the rain?

The skeptics don’t understand that cliché,

because they have to fight every day,

to artificially suspend the sun in the sky forever,

so that every day will be “super nice weather!”

However, this just shows their hypocrisy,

in constant denial of their own fallacies.

For nature comes with both life and death,

and the cynics deny because they cannot accept,

that foul weather.. is inevitable,

and human flaw is incredible!

It is what makes us shine.

Without some fractures we plateau at “fiiine”.

If I may suggest…Throw yourself into the wild winds of living,

where you take what you need and you never stop giving.

Get hurt and rock the scars,

because these bodies are impermanent

and it don’t matter if there are stars upon thar’s!

There is much more to life than what our five senses perceive,

trust me, trust you, try to BELIEVE.

If you can’t believe in someone else,

do me this favor and believe in yourself.

We are all we have, so seek the truth within.

Where things end, they also begin.

So remember, when you laugh, laugh your hardest,

and when you cry.. don’t be modest.

Because it is better to be in pain sometimes,

than to be numb at all times.

Acceptance is the golden key to letting go,

unlock the door and there is nothing you cannot know.

-Courtney Rose Battistelli

 

 

Cultural Aspect of Pain Management

Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Pain

NPR- Is emotional pain necessary?