Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCLXVIII

Boudreaux and Thibodeaux were watching the 10:00 o'clock news one night and there was a story about a man who was standing on the edge of the Calcasieu River Bridge threatening to jump, so Boudreaux challenged Thibodeaux to a bet as to whether or not the man would actually jump. Boudreaux bet that he would not jump and Thibodeaux bet that he would. However, when the man jumped, Thibodeaux said to Boudreaux, "I can't take your money, man, because I cheated. I watched the six o'clock news, so I already saw dat man jump." Boudreaux replied, "I saw the six o'clock news, me too, and I saw dat man jump, but I sure didn't think he'd do it again."

Well, the scene I'm experiencing right now is from a movie I've already watched. I've circled this block a time or two, so this is not my first time around. One thing I've learned down through the years is that pain hurts, but pain has a purpose. Of course, there are some of us who like to think that we are tough enough to endure pain and we like to brag that we have built up a tolerance that helps us to endure a little more than what the average person can take. Well, that may be true to a certain extent, but there's a limit to how much any of us can endure. I digress. Let me get back to the statement I made that "pain has a purpose." Pain is our body's way of telling us that something is wrong. Let me use the analogy of a parent and a child. How many times have you said something to your child like, "Johnny, sit down and eat your dinner." When Little Johnny pays you no mind, you say it again, "Johnny, I said for you to sit down and eat your dinner." Finally, it's more like this, "JOHNNY, YOU HAD BETTER SIT DOWN AND EAT YOUR DINNER RIGHT NOW, YOUNG MAN!!! DO YOU HEAR WHAT I'M TELLING YOU?"

The first little pains we feel are like that first soft voice that tells us, "Something is not right here, so you need to check it out." Most of us will totally ignore that soft voice, so it speaks to us again. No response. Finally, after several times of being completely ignored, it's more along this line, "I'VE TRIED TO TELL YOU IN A NICE WAY TO STOP, BUT SINCE YOU REFUSE TO LISTEN, TAKE THIS!!!!" POW!!! Then we stop. Suddenly we tough guys and gals aren't so tough any more, and we develop a more humble attitude. I have a cousin who likes to say, "Live with no regrets." But at that point in our lives we are filled with regret that we didn't listen to that first small voice that was trying to treat us more gently and help us to avoid the pain and regret that comes from being stubborn and refusing to listen.

All I can do now is look at myself in the mirror and ask, "How many times do you have to go through this before you learn?" It's a question I don't know how to answer, because I know I've been through similar circumstances at least six times in the past, and I apparently haven't learned yet. Maybe there's something wrong with my brain. My friend David says, "You don't have to be crazy to be a runner, but it helps." Maybe that's what it is, because I know for a fact that I'm not the only runner who has this same problem. But what I have is just a running injury, a very painful one, but it's something that eventually will heal....I hope. But this needs to be a lesson for us with our bodies in general....consistent pain, even though it's not severe, needs to be checked out. It's telling us that something is wrong, and it will not continually tolerate being ignored. When it starts yelling at us, we'll wish we would've listened when it was being more polite.

I guess I think more like ol' Boudreaux. I know what happened last time, but I'm sure it'll be different this time. Yeah, right.

Preston