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Little Life Lesson #821


I had very sharp and burning pain in my upper back and rhomboids for weeks. It was causing referred pain in my jaw and made it difficult to sleep or get my work done. I tried massage, Reiki, spiritual mind treatment, writing, medication, BodyTalk Plus, stretching, heat, and ice. I knew that there had to be something I was doing that was exacerbating the problem. I changed my chair at the computer. Took more breaks. I remained open to the answers. Finally I was struck with an awareness.

One day I was feeling okay and went shopping. I needed to buy some groceries and pick up some jeans for my husband. I got a cart and went to get the jeans first. Then I started to push the cart around the store to get the other things I needed. My rhomboids and upper back started hurting like crazy. I had to quit shopping, get out of there, and go home.

I realized the pain was about "pushing" but more than just pushing because sometimes it is important to be able to push to get something, or push to get something done, or push to get where you want to be. This was different.

At the store I had put the jeans in the cart and then went around the store. The heavy jeans could have been the last thing I picked up. I didn't have to push them around. I asked myself what I was thinking right before I felt the pain, "I have to..." There you go - pushing where I don't want or need to. I am grateful for the clear reminder to set my priorities and use my energy wisely. So my lesson was about pushing when I didn't need to and, in fact, when it was wasted effort--about pushing where I want and need to put effort.

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