Working with pain is about finding balance and maintaining a holistic awareness that acknowledges pain without being consumed by it. Pain, whether physical, mental, emotional, or related to life circumstances, often demands our attention, pulling us toward it in an effort to address or fix it. However, becoming completely absorbed by pain can cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture—our inherent wholeness.
When we focus entirely on pain, it can feel all-encompassing, as if it defines our entire experience. This fragmented focus intensifies the pain, feeding it with energy and power. Attention has a strengthening quality, so whatever we direct it toward grows in influence. When we identify with the pain, we also engage with all the energies of resistance, struggle, and overwhelm that come with it.
The focus is not to deny or ignore the pain but to approach it with objectivity and skill. Much like a doctor examining a wound without becoming consumed by the discomfort, we can observe pain from a broader perspective to understand it without losing ourselves in it.
At times, the wisest choice may be to step back and say, “This is too much right now.” Taking a break—whether by resting, walking, or redirecting focus—can prevent us from becoming overwhelmed or trapped in a cycle of pain.
Through practice, we can learn to use our attention skillfully by expanding it to include both pain and non-pain. By widening our awareness to encompass the whole body, the space around us, and the ground beneath us, we can hold a sense of wholeness rather than fixating on the fragmented part. This approach allows us to hear the voice of pain and let it speak without giving it our full energy.