Chapter 5 Enslaving America – Physical Pain

November 10, 2013

Three totally unrelated incidents yesterday targeted my attention on physical pain and what it can do to enslave us. I was visiting with our son Andy and he asked me to help him put up a metal shelf. In the process he dropped one of the boards on his toe and for those of you who have avoided this experience you can just imagine that the jarring of that pain is worthy of the greatest anguish words can express. The best thing about this incident is that he went on and completed the shelving. He will be sore for a few days, but no life-threatening aftermath will come of it.

The second and third events were tied together. Our son David was having some male plumbing pain and I went with him to the Insta-clinic where they prescribed some male plumbing medication. Dave had been in the med office a few minutes when a young couple came in with the wife in excruciating pain. She was virtually crying out in fear of losing her life. She said over and over again, “don’t let me die, I can’t breathe.” Her husband knelled down beside her and as he assured her he looked around the room and asked if anyone had “oil”. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, consecrated oil is used as part of an ordinance for blessing those who have an illness, or are in pain. We blessed this young lady, the nurse provided oxygen and other medication and her husband and I shared calming notes to her as we waited for the ambulance. Again, Davie and this fine lady will go on to their families and lives and live comfortable lives.

Each of these incidences could have become the genesis of real tragedy. This tragedy doesn’t begin with the ailment, but with remedy used in the aftermath. I am, of course talking about the use of pain medications that have no end. I have seen people become so addicted to pain killers that the medication becomes their whole purpose of existence. One fellow had been in pain so long he hired a legal pill pusher to provide him with. The particular drug he was using was, by police accounts, “. . . ten times more powerful and addictive than heroin. It rendered this gentleman free of pain, but incarcerated in his own body and mind.

I believe there is a definite place for pain killers in our society. They serve to provide immediate, short-term relief after a trauma, after surgery, a blinding headache, or other incident that needs attention. I have been researching, or perhaps just shopping for long-term alternatives to addictive drugs. One of the best I have found is self hypnosis. I have personally used this technique since my early days in the
Navy by simply tuning out the world around me and focusing on a quiet, peaceful place and time in my life where all was well. Mine usually reference spiritual elements in life including my family and my experiences with the Holy Ghost. This process is extremely beneficial when one is placed in a situation in which outward manifestations of grief, pain, or outrage only compound the problem.

In the New Testament, Paul talks to Galatians about the imprisonment of mind and body caused by some of the Saints as they wandered away from the Spirit of God. Our most cherished blessings come from freedom; freedom to believe as we do; freedom to live the lives we choose; freedom to be the person we believe we can become. Stand tall; look for ways to secure your personal freedom from all the ills of the world. Do whatever you can to bless the lives of those around you through service and love.

God bless each of us as we go forward in love and peace.

Duane Jacobs, Grandfather, father, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend