OUT OF ALIGNMENT

 When I take my car in for regular checks, one of the things they normally do is rotate the tires and align them.  If you have every walked or run down a road, you realize the road has a slope to it.  They are built this way to keep the water from standing --the slope drains the water.  When you run or drive on a slope, it can lead to problems of misalignment and cause wear and tear on one side.  Our cars and we who walk upright function best on flat surfaces.  It does not take much of a slope to create huge problems.

Poor Hero is having serious back problems.  Basically he is getting old and none of us--human or beast are created with bodies which do not wear out.  While consulting with the vet, she related to me a story of her own back woes.  One of my flaws in listening is the need to tell my own stories in these kind of encounters.  NOTE TO SELF---no need to always respond-keep it to yourself and just listen.  Back to the subject, due to a past injury, Hero's spine is now degenerating and nerves are being pinched.  I will save you from every detail, but at this point we are trying one more medication to see if we can give him more time.

Thinking this over, I thought of my own physical trials and tribulations.  Many times when I have an injury, my body compensates without me realizing and I create a new pain.  My hip is the source of the problem, but my IT Band is giving me agony.  This is called referred pain.  Many times the original injury will lead to my compensating in an effort to diminish the pain.  This then throws me out of alignment and the pain I am feeling is not the primary source of the trouble, but instead a secondary symptom.  We tend to focus on what is hurting and ignore  we might be having  this pain because of an entirely different issue.  My response to the stimuli is directed toward the referred pain, while the primary issue being remedied would solve both problems.

WELL NOW---where in the world is this going?  Our reactions and responses to others are not always helpful, kind, or well received.  Recently I responded to something my son said to me--with irritation.  It immediately occurred to me where this irk came from--and it had nothing to do with him, but something from my past.  I unloaded on him--and though he might have been the spark to light my fire--the fuel had been sitting there for a LONG time.   After decades of sitting on it, I came uncorked over something totally unrelated.  Could this be referred anger?  If I had dealt with the primary issue long ago--would I have unleashed on an unsuspecting loved one?  Food for thought---perhaps you are never guilty--but if you are-- it will not change unless you find the cause and deal with it.  

"Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,

but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly."

Proverbs 14:29