Tag Archive | non-toothache

No Pain

Sep3
Where’s Wren? In the windowsill watching an early afternoon rain in the mountains…

I’m grateful I woke today with no pain — or at least, so little as to feel like none at all. It’s important to be grateful for the absence of certain things as well as for the presence of others. As Thich Nhat Hanh said:

“When we’re having a toothache, we know that not having a toothache is a wonderful thing. Yet when we don’t have a toothache, we’re still not happy. A non-toothache is very pleasant.” 

― Thich Nhat Hanh, Making Space: Creating a Home Meditation Practice

Having a non-heelache and non-sciatica pain this morning gave me more energy than I’ve had in a long while, to attend to many things in the house and yarden. Then for lunch I got to make a Furikake tomato sandwich, or at least my version of it with avocado on Rouge de Bordeaux bread. It was interesting, and tasty in a sesame-seaweed way, but I probably won’t make it again. So few tomatoes this year, so little time to enjoy a classic tomato sandwich. Sure looked pretty though.

After lunch I got to sort the peach harvest, laying them all out on parchment paper on the counter, less ripe to more ripe, with those that needed immediate processing because of bruising or bird dings in the basket at the far end. I’m grateful for this elegant 2-in-1 harvest and wash basket. I cleaned, peeled and sliced the slightly damaged peaches and froze them in two 2-cup parcels. Then I froze a couple dozen whole peaches on a baking pan for four hours before bagging them. I’m grateful to Suzi for teaching me this method. A few seconds in the microwave or under hot running water makes them easy to peel and then slice and use as needed. I’ll freeze a few more batches whole and sliced; still not sure what I’ll do with the rest of them. Peach jam doesn’t seem to last as well as apricot; maybe I’ll just can them in light syrup, hmmm…

I’m grateful for a full afternoon in the kitchen. After the peaches, I made a pint batch of salsa to use up a few split tomatoes and a jalapeño, then used a couple more tomatoes and peppers in a batch of refried black beans to fill the last spinach tortillas, along with half a dozen eggs scrambled and some grated cheddar. I froze five of them and enjoyed the last for supper when I finally sat down after a full day on my feet. And just in the nick of time, as the heel pain came creeping back.

The Non-Toothache

Oct12
Four potted pepper plants in the sunroom… Most of the outdoor peppers survived the 38℉ (or less) night, with a few wilted leaves. I’m grateful for another week or more of mild days and nights above freezing to get the last bit of action from the garden.
Yesterday’s emergency harvest of peppers just in case, and I’m glad I brought them in.

Today I pruned the bonsai-in-training French lilac, watered everything left growing, caught up in the kitchen a little, and began my new discipline of self-care with a half-hour pranayama practice, in addition to working at the computer for several hours. It’s been great to be relatively pain-free for the past week and have the energy I need for winterizing inside and out.

“When we’re having a toothache, we know that not having a toothache is a wonderful thing. Yet when we don’t have a toothache, we’re still not happy. A non-toothache is very pleasant.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Physical pain can consume our attention. I suffered a great deal of physical pain for the past couple of months with sciatica. Since chiropractic treatment finally brought some lasting relief last Wednesday, I have been keenly aware of the non-pain, and the energy and mobility the lack of pain has brought to me. I’m grateful for the past week to have awareness of the ‘non-toothache.’