Migraines have played a huge and formative role throughout my life.
Debilitating and frustrating, to say the least. They have been at the core of my love-hate relationship with my body. There have been years when I've woken up literally every day with a headache that's just waiting to go full-blown within the hour.
I'm thankful that I'm not in one of those cycles, right now. For the past few years, I have been on a quest to understand my particular pattern of pain - what causes them and what alleviates them for me? Though I'm not likely to fully understand the causes, I have learned that my migraines are worse when I try too hard. When I try to force things more than I accept them, I'm likely to feel the pain in my neck. When I worry and try to fix things that aren't mine, the pain starts with a clenched jaw. When I witness injustice and don't see what I can do about it, the pain seems to emanate from the top of my head. I could go on…
Without a brilliant neurologist who has helped find the right tools for me, I'm not sure I would be able to lower the pain threshold to notice these subtleties. I've come to realize that this pain is often a message from my body that I would be wise to attend to. Often, my body signals the need for change before my mind and heart are ready. I can complain and resist, or I can accept and allow grace to be present on the journey.
How does your body signal its readiness for change?