Bearing the Cankers of Life
When we’re dealing with the canker sores of life, we can use all the balms and ointments available to minimize the current pain, celebrate the anticipation of a day when those canker sores will heal, and do our best to empathize with others who are in pain.
For most of my life I’ve dealt with a lot of canker sores. They’re such subtle, sneaky things. They’re so small and usually develop gradually. So gradually, in fact, that if I bite my cheek accidentally, or am a bit overly zealous in my brushing of teeth so that I brush up some abrasions on my gums or the inside of my lip, I always held this wishful thinking that the slight discomfort at the initial injury would be all I’d have to endure.
Of course, though, that’s not how canker sores work. They might start out as small, painless bumps in our mouths, but because they attract bacteria and because of the process by which mouth sores heal, we soon become very aware of them. I’ve been dealing with a particularly painful one this week, actually. Thankfully there are some ointments and numbing agents I’ve used to mute the pain, but there really isn’t any remedy yet that completely remove the canker sores all together.
This means we have to endure that sometimes sharp pain any time we eat, talk, brush our teeth, drink anything, or, with the case of my current one, basically anytime we do anything. Even sleeping is uncomfortable because I can’t lay my face on my pillow without rubbing my cheek against the canker sore.
Thankfully the sore is finally subsiding after about a week. The relief and anticipation of no longer experiencing the sharp pain any time I move my mouth is absolutely thrilling. That’s made me wonder why I don’t celebrate the sometimes months between canker sores as much as I am right now with the prospect of no longer having to deal with this one? I guess it’s human nature to focus on current pains rather than celebrating the lack of pains. But I’m going to try show greater gratitude for the in between time for at least two main reasons. 1) If I focus on the time without pain, it might help me have a better perspective on how long pains might last when they come and 2) In recognizing the lack of current particularly painful experiences, it can help keep my eyes open to others who are in pain now, so I might be able to empathize even more.
When we’re dealing with the canker sores of life, we can use all the balms and ointments available to minimize the current pain, celebrate the anticipation of a day when those canker sores will heal, and do our best to empathize with others who are in pain.