Poor Poor Pitiful Me

Trey Smith

In my last post, Weigh on Down, I briefly discussed the challenge the chronic pain sufferer must deal with to ward off depression. Of course, the other part of the issue is fighting the urge to feel sorry for yourself.

Let's face it. We all do it. At different points in our life, things don't go as well as we might like. Sometimes our problems are of our own making and sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. Regardless of which one it is -- it often is a combination of both -- we get to thinking that the stars are conspiring against us and experiencing great glee at our travails and misfortune.

Since we are each self-centered and self-focused, we tend to view all the aspects of life through the prism of me. If the grandiose me isn't getting what it desires, then it tends to be mad at the world writ large and to coddle itself for being so "unfairly" impinged upon!

This kind of attitude is easy for the chronic sufferer of pain to fall into. For most of us, this isn't the kind of existence we asked for. Most of us are powerless to stop or lessen the pain or infirmity to a significant degree. All we know is that, by the luck of the draw, we have become a prisoner that is chained to it and, in some cases, it amounts to a life sentence.

So, how do we ward off self-pity? There is no one magic formula. Each one of us must dig deep to find our own answer.

In my particular case, being an individual who does not believe in an afterlife, I reckon that this is my one chance at life. Regardless of the hand I've drawn, I need to live this one life to the fullest extent possible, even if the fullest extent is damn meager.

I didn't ask for this life -- the Grand Mystery decided that for me and nature will take me away when it deems the time is appropriate. Between these two points on the continuum is my time to make the best of things...the best that I can.