The Cure for Pain

For some time now I have had on my mind the concept of healing. This involves healing from emotional, physical, or any other kind of pain that can take place. There are a few things I wish to discuss but first I want to share a passage with you from one of the Narnia books, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

One of the characters is turned into a dragon, and without giving away too many details I wish to share with you his recounting of how he was later turned back into a human.

"Well, anyway, I looked up and saw the very last thing I expected: a huge lion coming slowly toward me. And one queer thing was that there was no moon last night, but there was moonlight where the lion was. So it came nearer and nearer. I was terribly afraid of it. You may think that, being a dragon, I could have knocked any lion out easily enough. But it wasn't that kind of fear. I wasn't afraid of it eating me, I was just afraid of it-if you can understand. Well, it came close up to me and looked straight into my eyes. And I shut my eyes tight. But that wasn't any good because it told me to follow it...And I knew I'd have to do what it told me, so I got up and followed it. And it led me a long way into the mountains...So at last we came to the top of this mountain I'd never seen before and on the top of this mountain there was a garden-trees and fruit and everything. In the middle of it there was a well..."

He goes on to describe the well and how he would like to get in and bathe. He thought maybe it would ease the pain that was in his leg. Keep in mind, he's a dragon. The lion tells him that he must undress first, before going in.

"I started scratching myself and my scales began coming off all over the place. And then I scratched a little deeper and, instead of just scales coming off here and there, my whole skin started peeling off beautifully, like it does after an illness, or as if I was a banana. In a minute or two I just stepped out of it. I could see it lying there beside me, looking rather nasty. It was a most lovely feeling. So I started to go down to the well for my bathe.

"But just as I was going to put my feet into the water I looked down and saw that they were all hard and rough and wrinkled and scaly just as they had been before. Oh, that's all right, said I, it only means I had another smaller suit on underneath the first one, and I"ll have to get out of it too. So I scratched and tore again and this underskin peeled off beautifully and out I stepped and left it lying beside the other one and went down to the well for my bathe.

He tries one more time and the same thing happens. His skin grows back.

"Then the lion said...'You will have to let me undress you.' I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.

"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off...Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off-just as I thought I'd done it myself the other three times, only they hadn't hurt-and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been. And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me-I didn't like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I'd no skin on-and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I'd turned into a boy again...After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me."

I must confess, I had no idea how long this description was until I typed it, but I hope you stuck it out and read the whole thing. I also hope you would agree with me when I say, this is a beautiful description/metaphor for someone overcoming pain.

I read through this book for the second time this previous summer. Conveniently, I read it right before I would undergo a very minor surgical procedure that involved cutting into my tail bone. I was numbed in the area, but if you've ever had part of your body cut into, in order to 'dig' something out, you understand that you still feel the pressure regardless of how much the doctor numbs you. This story helped me get through that time. The way our body works shows us how we heal. In some cases, something that seems much worse needs to happen in order for you to gain everything that is necessary for you to live a more healthy life.

Let's look at the character of Eustace for a moment. He was the one who turned into a dragon. He was not a fantastic human being up until he turned into the dragon. While he was a dragon, his resolve grew as well as his character. He became a new creation. The whole time he was a dragon he had this bracelet around one of his arms, which hurt immensely. The cure for his pain involves a gruesome moment, but he found joy in it somehow because I think he knew what would happen if he just bore some pain in order to be free from it entirely.

He became a new creation. He became a new person. He became someone who could now bare pain with the optimism of what the future holds.

Another part of the story worth mentioning, aside from all of it, is that when he 'undresses' himself, he felt no pain and it did not him do any good. I feel as though C.S. Lewis was trying to teach us something about growth. In order to grow from and and of sinful natures/sin in general, we are required to take a step outside of ourselves. The question that comes up is whether or not we do that on our own or with the help of a higher power. What happened when Eustace tried to step out of himself alone? The scales and nasty skin grew back. It's not that he didn't want to be free from the skin, it's that he was not able to do it on his own. Maybe he wasn't ready to take a full step out of himself.

Maybe, he didn't realize exactly what it meant to take a step out of his self.

Maybe we're the same way.

Maybe we do not fully comprehend that we can't do this on our own, or maybe we're too stubborn to admit it. Either way, we must realize what it takes to grow and accept that it may hurt. It could hurt some, or hurt a lot. It depends on the person going through it.

The important thing is to not let your pain stop you from doing the right thing. Just because a girl that you love dumped you or you broke your arm does not make the world stop from moving. Other people have it just as bad if not worse than you.

Pain happens to everyone, whether physical or emotional it happens.

To quote The Gunseller, a book written by Hugh Laurie (of House M.D. fame):

Pain is an event. It happens to you, and you deal with it in whatever way you can.

This is a more cynical approach to pain, but there's a lot of truth to it. As I said, pain happens to everyone. There are no exceptions. And if you want to argue that, just remember that Jesus suffered through a gruesome death, and if you think he felt no pain, you should reconsider...never mind, everyone goes through pain.

Emotional, as well as physical, pain can be ignored, even though strong, emotional pain can at times hurt worse than physical pain.

The topic of pain is interesting to me because people talk all the time about how they are hurting in situations. I don't wish to seem careless/heartless but at the same time, if you wear your pain on your sleeves, you're being selfish. I do it too, so don't accuse me of pointing fingers.

Just as people wear pride, arrogance, emotions, etc, they can also wear pain on their sleeves. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be in pain, because as I stated earlier, pain happens to everyone, but you have to deal with it accordingly.

What if someone is hurting worse than you?

When you're hurt, all you can think about is yourself and what happened to you. You could be the person that makes a difference in the one who is hurting's life. But all you care about is yourself, so you ignore his/her pain, which is the easier thing to do, and you focus on your pain. It is much more difficult to ignore your own pain and help others deal with their own pain than the alternative.

I know what I'm saying isn't easy to do. I'm even more human than the rest of you, debatably, but what I'm doing is more like a 'Call to Arms". There is a world full of suffering people around us, but we cannot see it because we refuse to see it.

It's time to look past myself and look to those in need around me.

So I challenge you along with myself, to possibly look outside of your own skin for once and see what is going on around you. People are good liar's or at least attempt to be. Push to make a difference and do not be afraid to ask for help, from friends or someone more powerful.

-Chris Peters

I have more thoughts on this topic, we'll see if I post more in the future. In the meantime, let me know how you feel about everything!

Hearts Held Captive

"Fight for the heart of your king!"
-James Douglas; Successor of Robert the Bruce

I just finished reading one of my favorite books for the third time since I first discovered it through a friend, The Barbarian Way by Erwin Raphael McManus. The book starts with a story about a Celtic Warrior who made an incredible journey. Robert the Bruce, who Americans see as the man who betrayed William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in the movie Braveheart, later went on to lead Scotland to many victories, making up for his act of betrayal.

When Robert the Bruce was on his death bed he asked that his heart be carved out of his chest and be carried with a brave knight to each battle. Some records show he wanted his heart brought to Jerusalem but that's not the story we're looking at. James Douglas was the man who would carry around his predecessor's heart embalmed into a locket. During a battle, Douglas' men were surrounded and in an act of desperation, he took his King's heart from around his neck and threw it into the crowd of enemy warriors and yelled to his men, "Fight for the Heart of your King!"

Every time I read this story something in my heart reacts. Something inside me wants to stand up and yell at the top of my lungs whether that be audible sounds or just vacant noise.

At times I feel weak.

At times I feel unworthy.

Most of the time I feel unfit to participate in life. I often feel as though I'm only ever going to read about great man and never actually do anything in my life to be remembered as a great man. So much in my life has left me inspired, but then I lose it, quickly or slowly, in the end it makes no difference. I know that I could be doing more with my life and for my King. Right now, I want to communicate an idea and start ask questions...It doesn't matter if they are answered as long as things get moving.

Life is not a game. Life is not something simple where someone can just sit on the sidelines and cheer for the "right" team. Life is real and there are no civilians. Everyone has been given a weapon to participate. Every man, woman, boy or girl can become a casualty.

I want to be someone who will devote myself to an ideal entirely with no exceptions. I don't make assumptions and hopefully never will so that's what brings me to the big question. What are you doing to fight for the heart of your King?

Before you can even answer this question, think about who exactly your King is?

What is it that you are willing to die for?

What is it that your willing to live for?

You can claim you would die for Jesus but until you actually live the way he's called you to live, I don't think you truly are.

So I challenge you, stand up and live so that others may see something different inside of you.

Let's work together to change ourselves so that we can help change the world around us.

It starts with captivation. Until your heart is held captive by the one who made it, you cannot fight to the fullest. It will not be easy and if anyone has promised you that life with God would be easy, they lied or aren't seeking out the challenges God has laid in front of them. God doesn't call us to be mundane, but to shine for the world by capturing his heart. I believe the only way that your heart can be held captive is by doing what James Douglas commanded of his men.

You must fight for the Heart of your King!

Northern Light(s)

For the past couple of years I've been doing this through myspace and facebook but now I want to expand my fanbase...(kidding). I feel that blogging here will be more efficient/effective and more organized.

So Right now I just want to address my plans for my blog. In the future I will be writing my thoughts down as a means to simply clear my head. This has always been my strategy but I'm not sure if I've ever made that clear or not.

I've chosen the title Northern Light(s) for this blog. There are a couple of meanings behind it, the simplest of which is that it's part of a song title by one of my favorite bands, Anberlin. The full song title is called Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights). The song reflects what's on my heart in the chorus.

Live; I wanna live inspired.
Die; I wanna die for something higher than myself.
Live and die for anyone else.
The more I live I see, this life's not about me.

My biggest dream is to inspire and live inspired. I haven't shared that with too many people before, but now it is out for everyone to know. I believe in something higher than myself and I only wish that people come to agree with me that the world would be a better place if we thought less about ourselves and more about others.

Another meaning behind Northern Light(s), has to do with the parenthesis. This phrase shows a sense of direction in life for me as well as others. On a compass, the needle is forced to point north. A sailor could always look at the night sky and locate the north star to help them find their destination. North represents my destination. As long as I know what direction north is, I will always know where to walk.

The Light represents what I'm supposed to be. Those that inspire me in life shine brighter than I probably ever will. That does not mean I can't strive to shine even brighter than them. Everything I do needs to be done in the light. There's a purity to the idea of light and I want to hold a level of purity to how I live.

Finally, the Light(s). This represents what those who are inspired with me or by me because I can not guarantee that I will directly inspire anyone, and that's okay. But what kind of a man would I be if I didn't even attempt to change the world around me to make it a brighter place? What man is a man if he does not make the world better?

That took longer than I meant for it to, but all in all my plan for this blog is to have a conversation. I want people to converse with me and not just read but think about what I have to say and let me know if you agree or better yet, disagree.

I know I'm not the smartest person in the world. I know I can be arrogant. I know I can be sarcastic.

But I also know that I'm on a constant journey and each day I learn something new.

In the future I'd like to learn with those who are willing to join me on that journey.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

-Chris