Road runner, road runner, going faster miles an hour
Who remembers Wile E. Coyote?
That pesky predator of the superfast road runner?
Each trick he played to capture the road runner left him in a bit of a pickle, to put it mildly.
Relying on Acme products to get the job done, he managed to inflict more and more damage on himself as the episode progressed. Road Runner, in contrast, just ran and ran and ran with a beep-beep for effect.
The Coyote turned up as my pick of the day from the medicine woman oracle that I used with my good friend and colleague Gabriela on the 16th day of my recovery journey.
I have noticed that I am a little bit like Wile E. Coyote when it comes to pain. I think up bigger and bigger problems as pain surfaces. Do I now have sciatica on my right? I am sure those pins and needles are progressing up my foot, are just two examples. Then I apply the Acme products to help defeat the pain. Too much walking, or more sitting, varying painkillers and an occasional phone call to the consultant nurse.
The way I am responding to pain is similar to the way a persecutor responds to a problem, and it is keeping my body on high alert. What I know as a somatic coach is when you are on high alert you waste a lot of energy, energy that can be best used in the healing process. One of my favourite coach teachers (Donna Zajonic) shares how a persecutor mindset shows up in the body.
‘Your jaw might clench, fists tighten, and your body leans forward.’ Just like Wile E. Coyote as he sits on the mountaintop viewing the roads. ‘Shoulders rise and your breath quickens. Facial expressions may be angry, determined, or serious. … The body is bracing for control, perhaps even a confrontation. Your attention sharpens but narrow, looking for what’s wrong or who is to blame or how to take charge.’
Can’t you just see that old coyote in this description?
What I know is that like the road runner, the pain will just come and run when it needs to run and that inflammation will run itself out in the end. What I need to do is – relax my jaw, soften my gaze, widen my perspective and sit back.
Since my last update, I have had the 8 staples out, which was much less painful than I anticipated. I now know exactly what a pinboard feels like when numerous staples are removed. I was buoyed by the nurses oohing and ahhing over the healing of the wound and the neatness of the staple application which meant a very straight line – a bit like the road runner maps of the cartoons.
Eight is a great number to have in this scar as it has significance in Eastern cultures as a number with meaning. A symbol of luck in Buddhist thinking, associated with the lotus flower that has eight petals. The lotus is a flower that is borne in the mud and rises up to the sun. Coincidentally, I saw this flower last Sunday in my friend’s garden.
It has a connection with the infinity symbol and is often related to the ongoing energy and flow of life. The message of the number 8 is to stay confident and look for balance.
So there is an art at the moment to take some of the confidence of Wile E. Coyote who never gives up in his attempt to snare the road runner AND find a way of making a friend of pain. Recognising, acknowledging, accompanying and letting it run its course.
In writing this piece, I have found myself smiling. I even spent 20 minutes watching an old episode of Looney Tunes, which took me back to being a small child watching these cartoons which usually appeared just before dinner time.
Part of the teachings of the Coyote archetype is ‘don’t take the situation too seriously, cultivate humour and the message will be revealed to you.’ To ‘reconnect with the ability to laugh at yourself, and bring things down to a lower key. Show a little weirdness to get through disorder and contrary winds.’
So laughter is the key to getting through the next few weeks. I’ll be relying on some of my friends to help me out here. Jokes ready, please.
Next stop for me – look for the levity, leave the ACME products to the past and look closely for the humour in every situation.
