“Memories don't live like people do
They always 'memba you
Whether things are good or bad
It's just the memories that you have”
My memory could be doing me bad at the moment, but I believe I mentioned having aggravated a pinch nerve in last week’s piece. While that is neither here nor there, I just want to formally say that I have a pinched nerve, again. I had it for the first time in 2014 and what I remember vividly was how painful and torturous that was for about three months of my life. Bro!
You would think that I would’ve gotten this pinched nerve again from cleaning two human beings or back squatting three human beings, but your boy got this from doing some BASIC accessory movements. No weights, no bars, no nothing – and now I’m injured. Since I got it three weeks ago, I’ve seen my therapist Antonio and Angie, I’ve stopped Martijn before he left The Box and I’ve cornered Jody (our Yoga instructor)! Any advice that I can get right now, I’m willing to take.
Anyway…
I was standing outside the Johnny Caker’s kitchen waiting to pick up an order for delivery. My mind cleared for a moment and I realized that I was in a slight bit of pain. On a scale of one to10, the pain has never really passed a five, but the pain is pretty consistent. You have no idea how annoying that constant pain and discomfort is. Sometimes it would jump from a two to a five, depending on my movement and I would either grimace or just clinch my jaw really tight.
In that moment outside the Johnny Caker, I started to think of how many people there are, who are in pain, but we would never know – whether it's a three, five or seven on the scale, or maybe a constant pain or just spasms. And this doesn’t have to just mean physical pain, because I love to use how things affect us physically as a metaphor for how things affect us mentally and spiritually. The same way that I can grimace when I feel pain and still continue my “normal” routine, there are persons who are probably suffering in silence.
Some could just be passing by or actually paying attention to me in a moment, see it, ask me, “Are you okay?” and then offer some type of help. That person could also just walk away because “That’s not my business.” However, it's so much harder to do that when someone is dealing with something on the mental or spiritual front. In those moments, it’s important to have people in your life that know you, really know you. They can tell when something is off or a shift in your routine. Yes, you can also seek out help on your own, but like all of us know, that is not always the easiest option.
Having those memories of how bad this injury was in 2014 has made me SUPER diligent this time around. I have experience. Sometimes if you’re facing something for the first time, you try to play doctor via Google and “deal with it on your own” – not always a very good idea.
I guess what I’m really trying to say is that as an outsider, we should try to be a little more vigilant throughout the day of people in our surroundings, whether it’s “your people” or just “some person”. You never know when you might catch someone grimacing and you could offer some help. And for the insider who may be living with a pain, whether it is physical, mental or spiritual, don’t be afraid to seek out some help if you need it. You can also give a subtle signal by “grimacing” a bit more obviously. *wink wink*
*Cues Memories by Beenie Man*
