Got pain?

It is my undisclosed--until now--habit to nab the 'living' section of the newspaper if I find it laying around in waiting rooms or coffee shops. That's so I can do the crossword and read the daily funnies while disposing of it in the recycling bin and I figure finders keepers. . .

So, today's heist was really yesterday's St. Paul Pioneer Press with another guilty pleasure besides the above, a column called 'Help me, Harlan!' written by Harlan Cohen, a male Dear Abby only more hip. (No, one does not have to be hip to read it , O.K.?!) Anyway, a guy writes in about how he's unable to get over a crush he's had on the same girl forever. He had met her in a comedy troupe, (which is somehow sad on its own in light of what it does to him), falls for her, confesses his feelings, doesn't get to first base, drops out for a semester from school and still isn't over her--enter Harlan. He offers this advice:

'Dear Tragedy or Comedy:

Did you hear Tiger Woods has reportedly been playing golf with nagging knee pain for the past 10 or 12 years? And yet he has been able to win tournament after tournament with this nagging pain. See, it is possible to live with an uncomfortable pain and still win a major. Likewise, it is possible to have a painful crush and still win big.

You just have to play through the pain.'

Good advice, I thought, for most kinds of pain in our life but pain does take some getting used to. Sometimes a shiny, silver bullet to clench between your teeth helps. I think Harlan would agree that some pain is just too painful and its criminal to minimize anyone's pain be it physical or emotional.

But, I found this thought helpful today for me, right where I am. Any thoughts?