Oh, it’s my favorite patient! How are you? Oh yes, yes, of course. Let me just take a look at your chart — see what we’re working with.
Well, look at this! Your heart is beating! My goodness, that’s wonderful. It’s beating more than once per second! Just think of all that blood, pumping through your body, bringing life to your cells. Remarkable!
And see here? This says your body is at a perfectly balanced temperature! You know, humans can only exist within about a 10-degree range, and you’re in it! Well done, you!
Oh! And you have weight! How excellent. Gravity will keep you here on our planet, and you’ll not go floating off into the ether!
So, that’s all in order.
Now, what seems to be the trouble?
Hmm, pain, you say? Could you describe that for me?
Ah, yes, the dull ache. Appears regularly? Fills your chest and sometimes your mind with emptiness? Creeps up without warning when you’re alone, sometimes even in a crowd? Mmhmm.
Oh, and the tightness in your throat, too. Dear me. Ever any ringing in your ears, shortness of breath?
Yes, I see. Let me take a look.
Does it hurt when I poke you? Oh, good, it should! That means your skin is working. You can feel the wind and the sun and a warning pinch if you touch something sharp.
Can you follow my hand when I do this? Yes? Wonderful! Your eyes can take in movement, the swinging of the birds across the sky. I assume you can tell me what color my shirt is, too? Yes, quite right. That means you can see the sunset painted above the edges of the trees. Marvelous stuff, sunsets.
Can you smell my coffee? Could you taste it if I were so generous as to give you a sip? Good. Oh, and obviously you can hear my voice, so we can check that off.
Do you have friends? Oh, how wonderful. What are their names? Really? I’ve never met them, but they sound delightful. Laugh sometimes, do they? But not at you, I hope, at least not without permission. Good, good.
So, yes. This pain.
Perfectly normal, I’m afraid. Like the rest of your body, your soul is feeling. That loneliness, that ache, a bit of anxiety or worry? It’s your connection to this world. It means you care.
Now, of course, I don’t want you to be in pain all the time. So rest as needed, of course. Watch the birds and the sunsets. Drink the coffee and feel the wind. Laugh with your friends.
But that pain is part of being human. It tethers us, not unlike gravity, to each other.
I know, not much help, am I? But look at it this way.
Now you don’t have to be afraid of it, of the empty feeling. Because you know it’s there for a reason. And that’s something, right?
I agree. Well, it’s lovely to see you, of course. But let’s not waste any more of our time here in this little room. Oh, here, have a lollipop! I give them to all my best patients. Now, go out and enjoy that wonderful body and soul!
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