Gain without Pain
On Pain, Anesthesia, Paralysis, and Recovery
Pain
I begin my day with a walk in the park.
I enjoy both the exercise and the pleasant surroundings. I’m also quietly pleased of the health benefits the exercise might confer on my future.
That said, on some days, I’d rather just sleep in. Or conversely, begin my day with something more “productive” than wasting my time walking. And on other days, let’s say when it's raining too hard, or when I’ve succumbed to the flu, I can’t go for my walk, even if I’d like to.
Hence, there is always a conflict.
“To walk, or not to walk?”
Sometimes, one side “wins” the conflict, sometimes the other side wins. Sometimes, the conflict is so even, that it is difficult to decide. Like when there is an increasing drizzle, I’ve only had a few hours of sleep, and I feel a sniffle coming on.
“Conflicts” like these, cause pain, however small.
And not just walking in the park. Almost everything we do involves some manner of conflict.
Anesthesia
Fortunately, we rarely notice these “conflicts”.
For example, I rarely think about the various tradeoffs of walking in the park. I just get up in the morning and walk. It has become part of my daily constitutional. A habit.
And what’s so bad about a habit? Especially, if it is broadly beneficial — like exercising?
The problem is that “habits” make us unconscious to the underlying conflicts. Essentially, habits are anesthesia to the pain of conflict.
And there are many varieties of this anesthesia, which go by many names. Like ritual, tradition, morals, ethics, laws and “this is how things have always been done”.
And anesthesia numbs us to all manner of conflicts involved in all manner of things that we do.
But what’s wrong with anesthesia?
Broadly, two things.
Firstly, anesthesia could hide real problems. Like taking painkillers for a headache could distract us from finding the real cause —perhaps, a brain tumor, “this is how things have always been done” could lead to the most terrible atrocities.
Secondly, eventually the anesthesia will wear out, and we will wake up in terrible pain.
Paralysis
There is a way to avoid both pain and anesthesia.
Suppose I’ve just woken up in the morning and am trying to decide whether to go for a walk. I observe that there are many reasons why I should walk.
But I also observe that there are many reasons why I should not. And so I spend the entire morning analyzing these various reasons, and end-up neither walking or doing anything else either.
This state of affairs is usually known as “Analysis Paralysis”.
Conversely, I could also conclude that none of the reasons, for either side, are significant enough. Here too I end up in a state of doing nothing, because I have no reason to do anything. A sort of “Idle Paralysis”.
Regardless of the variety, “Paralysis” avoids both pain and the need for anesthesia.
But — as you might’ve guessed — there are still problems. For one, you might be acutely aware of the fact that you are paralyzed. And your need to get out of paralysis will conflict with your state of paralysis — and cause pain.
And so, really, paralysis, doesn’t really avoid pain. It just exchanges one form for another.
Recovery
So, what do I do tomorrow?
Do I walk, or do I not walk?
At first glance, it seems that I have no choice but to bare the pain, or yield to anesthesia, or succumb to paralysis.
But no.
There is a way around this problem. Not just one way, but two ways.
Art
I know I’ve already shared various reasons why I walk (exercise, enjoyment etc.). But to be honest, these are merely excuses.
The real reason I walk is because I like to walk for the sake of walking.
There are many things we do merely for the sake of doing it, with no other reason — not even happiness or enjoyment. The best word we have for describing these things is “Art”.
Why should you indulge in art?
Well, if you need to ask the question, then you will not understand the answer. So I won’t answer.
Similarly, the point of living is living. So don’t ask.
Compassion
If art is (for lack of a better word) too “artsy-fartsy” for you, here’s another reason.
There are almost zero absolute truths in the universe. But one truth that seems to be quite true is the truth of suffering. Things suffer. There is no denying that.
Being sensitive to this truth is called “compassion”. And acting with the intention of reducing suffering could be described as “compassionate action”.
In theory, we could be compassionate to the entire universe. In practice, we do what we can. This usually means starting with who and what is closest to us.
My body is one of the “things” closest to me. And I exercise because I’m compassionate to my body.
We can gradually expand this circle of compassion, from ourselves, to those closest to us, to those a little further away, and finally to everything.
And so, tell me.
Walk or not walk?
And either way, is it going to be Art or Compassion?
