Neutral Territory

Written by Mathew Naismith

I recently had a good friend of ours that we haven't seen for awhile give us a visit.

Before leaving, they asked me if I was happy, my reply was yes but that wasn't quite true. I'm sure they saw/felt through this.

I've endured ongoing chronic pain since I was 6 years old, trying to stay happy and stress free is virtually impossible at times. Long term chronic pain simply plays havoc on the psyche, especially 47 years of it.

On top of this, my right arm/shoulder has literally felt broken recently. Of course my arm has been broken since I was six but it's not often it feels actually broken, even while suffering chronic pain.

I can usually work through the chronic pain and pretty much do as I like within reason, this hasn't been the case in recent days.

My life has been a rollercoaster which has been made worse with being able to zone out in a harmonious state of consciousness, in saying this, if it wasn't for my ability to zone out, I simply wouldn't be here today.

So when I am not happy, does this make me sad/unhappy? Not on your nelly, just because you are not happy at times doesn't mean you are sad. Nothing like neutral territory when physically and psychologically stressed out. Often psychologists will look for neutral territory for their clients, spirituality often does the same; meditation is but one example of this in my mind.