#danielpierce

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me", or will they? Same areas of the brain get activated when we experience social rejection or the betrayal of a loved one as when we spilled hot coffee on our arms. In other words emotional pain hurts the same as physical pain. Science has developed drugs that can alleviate and in some cases eliminate our physical pain. And some of those same drugs are now proving helpful in eliminating our emotional pain. So the prescription for a broken heart might actually be "take two Tylenol and call me in the morning." But is numbing our pain always a good thing? The more we know pain, in all its varying flavours, the more we can appreciate the sensations and the feelings that we like. It's the nature of contrast. If we never felt bitterness or anger than we wouldn't deeply appreciate our happiness. And if we never knew fear than we couldn't admire courage. So maybe the more fully enjoy the beauty in our lives we must first acknowledge and embrace our pain.