My husband and I just started watching a new documentary series via Netflix titled Aaron Rodgers: Enigma. I plan to write a separate post discussing the documentary in its entirety, but there is a brief mention of it here in this one because it is what sparked the idea for today’s content.
There is a line Rodgers states in the first episode of the series during which he is discussing how he recovered from his torn Achilles injury. He explains how he has always had the ability to endure pain, and how he has made the clear distinction between discomfort and pain, acknowledging one is merely physically unpleasant, not injury-inducing. While quite simple in its meaning, I find his perspective toward pain, as a concept, to be rather fascinating, and brilliant.
Pain is interesting in the sense I think it can be interpreted as both objective and subjective. I consider pain objective in the sense that when we experience blunt force trauma with considerable force, for example, somewhere on our bodies, it causes pain. No questions asked. But, I also find pain to be subjective in the sense we all have a different tolerance of pain and how much we can endure.
I do hope I’m making sense and that I don’t sound like an absolute buffoon in my explanation of how I interpret pain.
I do think, though, that a lot of people do confuse discomfort with pain, and perhaps that what many people consider pain is simply a different means of expressing intolerance. I could be wrong, but I can’t help but notice that we seem to be becoming collectively softer and softer with each new generation, and it’s a bit frustrating to recognize sometimes. Occasionally, I think to myself, what would our ancestors think? and that ends up prompting a rather outlandish rabbit hole exploration.
We all experience pain, but perhaps it is safe to wager that we do not all share the same perception of what the term itself embodies.
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
ontheedgeofeverything 