Doctor Paul Brand, who has spent a lifetime treating lepers, had a frightening experience one night. Getting ready for bed after hours of travel he discovered there was no feeling in his heel. So he took a pin, pricked it but felt no pain. Despite constantly telling people that leprosy is not as contagious as they think, he went to bed convinced he had contracted the disease. But as daylight dawned, so did a little more clinical objectivity. He took the pin again, jabbed it below his ankle and yelled with pain. He realized that what had happened was that sitting for hours on a train had numbed a nerve. And ever since, whenever he has felt pain Paul Brand’s reaction has been, “Thank God I can still feel pain!”
Pain is never pleasant but sometimes it’s the only thing that teaches us what to do to regain our peace of mind.