Because pain is only pain when we are attached to it—both physical and emotional—I dug out some words by Krishnamurti. It’s the holidays. For many there’s an emotional difficulty as we are missing some loved ones. For others those pains translate to the addition of muscle and bone aches and bruises. Did you notice you’re bumping into corners and edges more?

Maybe none of this applies to you right now. Tuck these thoughts aside, then, and come back when there’s a need.

J. Krishnamurti – Words of Wisdom

Here are the passages taken from page 74 of the book “On Love and loneliness” by J.Krishnamurti.

TO OBSERVE PHYSICAL OR BODILY PAIN

All of us know physical pain– a little or a great deal – and we can deal with it medically and in other ways. You can observe pain with a mind that is not attached, with a mind that can observe bodily pain as though from the outside. One can observe one’s toothache and not be emotionally, psychologically involved in it. When you are involved emotionally and psychologically with that pain in the tooth, then the pain becomes more, you get terribly anxious, fearful. I do not know if you have noticed this fact.

The key is to be aware of the physical, physiological, biological pain, and in that awareness not get involved with it psychologically. Being aware of the physical pain – and the psychological involvement with it which intensifies the pain and brings about anxiety, fear – and keeping the psychological factor entirely out req aloofness, a certain quality of unattached observation. Then that pain doesn’t distort the activities of the mind; then that physical pain doesn’t bring about neurotic activity of the mind.