lessons in compassion

I've been at home for 3 days now after tweaking my back on Sunday. I did get a great and muddy mountain biking adventure in before realizing just how bad my back was. And granted I've got some good studying done, but I'm weary from not being able to move with ease and you can only watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy so many times (once in two days is enough I guess). Up until Sunday afternoon I was enjoying a regular run or some form of exercise, especially with the nice weather! And now, I'm hobbling around the house mostly stuck in some immobile position waiting, hoping for it to pass. My in-house physical therapist has done some work on it and I'm hoping that will do the trick. I am pretty convinced now that I would have a hell of a time coming to terms with chronic pain if that were my lot in life...and I suppose it is a gift to be able to empathize with those who do live with chronic pain. It is very depressing to not be able to utilize the gift of movement in one's body. I can't say I've been sad to miss work, but I need to be doing something...to earn a buck, to avoid wallowing. But, I don't know if it is wise to commit myself to lifeguard if my back is out of wack...risking further injury to myself much less the loss of someone else's life should I not respond swiftly or agilely enough in an emergency - my body is anything but swift or agile with this back ache.

Well, that's enough out of me. I will say though, that a recent discovery of pandora.com has been quite the nice complement to my home-bound days. That and the neighborhood grocer and cafe around the corner - You Say Tomato - have been delightful.