I banjaxed my back on Friday and am way out of my comfort zone, to say the very least. There was a time when my back was bad, bad, bad for years on end and I became quite an expert on every conceivable kind of therapy from the very orthodox to the wildly alternative.
In the middle of that period my mother quipped that the pain was such a constant companion that I’d miss it when it was gone. Of course, she knew that once it had gone that I would very quickly forget those nerve jangling efforts of trying to turn in bed and the wobbly walks measured in half paces with breath held braced for the next muscle spasm.
Of course, what I miss in the throes of this latest ‘episode’ is having Father arriving up to the house with ‘meals on wheels,’ carefully wrapped in Mother’s love and emphasis on eye appeal.
‘Eye appeal’ generally meant a sprig of fresh parsely or maybe an edible nasturtium.
One of the most important things that I learned back then about pain was the importance of leaning into it rather than fighting against it and one way that I tried to make friends with it was through colour.
I think I must have had a premonition about the back caving in on Thursday last when I was out in Mount Congreve because I got to wondering about ‘blues’ and low mood.
Anyway, here’s the colour of my soft-tissued pain as I’m perceiving it now:

Sorry to hear that Jean hope you are feeling better soon
Hi Aine, great to hear from you. Hope all’s going well.
Was thinking, ‘once a carer, always a carer.’
🙂
I’m sorry about your pain Jean and I hope it is gone soon. That is a beautiful flower and color.
Many thanks Paul. Hopefully, just a temporary blip.
Have a peaceful Sunday. Are you posting today?
I’m over at Mark’s https://markbialczak.com/2016/07/31/penny-in-the-park/ . Have a great weekend.
Gosh I hope you are well soon:):)
Thanks Olga. Fret not: I have two men to look after me and Puppy Stan as well!!
Hope you feel better soon. I love your “leaning into it”. That works with so many things! The pom-pom is beautiful!
Yeah, I think the leaning in works well in various contexts.
Thanks for your good wishes.
Big color Jean. Get well. Soon.
Kinda majestic, don’t you think? What colour would you pick for pain?
RED. Fire engine red!
Great description!
Oh dear… hope that sorts itself out fairly quickly, Jean! Me, I’d go with a peony sort of red…not too dissimilar from yours.
Thanks Sue.
I know the colour you’re thinking of. Very soothing too.
I am truly sorry that you are having back pain problems..I have had these and I feel for you. Muscle relaxants, cold, heat, pillow under the legs..laying straight ..something to rub on your back…different shoes…possible a cane if your having trouble walking..I hope that it disappears quickly..The color of the flower does seem to fit the pain elevation..think purple or blue something cool…
Great advice, Joni. Glad to say it seems a little better today 😊
Sending you gentle hugs and here is hoping that the pain will go soon ! xxxx
Thanks a million, Willow. xx
😎🤗😇😘
At least the color of your pain is not black right now! Banjaxed? I suppose it means your back went out. May your pain diminish until it is only a memory! Glad you have two guys to take care of you…and a pup.
Hi CC, ‘banjaxed’ is a commonly used word here in Ireland. It covers a multitude but basically means ‘messed up.’ It’s a very handy word indeed!
Hoping you feel better soon, Jean! I have a lot of osteoarthritis and cervical neck spur problems (from all those years lifting my multi-handicapped students).
They sell a neat, awesome little device called the Lumbar Extender or Multi-Level- Stretching Device that works well for a lot of back problems. You may want to check it out!
https://www.amazon.com/Back-Magic-Multi-Level-Stretching-Device/dp/B000YHP8HY/ref=sr_1_3_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1469988919&sr=1-3&keywords=lumbar+extender
Thanks for the tip, Tom. I think I’m on the mend but I’ll keep this for future reference.
Oh no. Back pain is such a difficult one to stay ahead of. I hope your colour will be vibrant yellow of sunflowers by the weekend.
Beautiful photo though.
Thanks Tric. Was just looking at some sunflowers today. They are something else, aren’t they?
Back pain is horrible. When my little pup Cheesy passed away weeks ago I also pulled something in my back. Heartbreak and back pain are two things that shouldn’t be combined. Hoping you get some relief quickly my friend. 💜
Oh I remember that post of yours, Lennon. I hope the heartbreak will stay away and that yours is lifting some bit.
Thanks for your good wishes.
Hello Jean sorry to see that you are having a bad time with your back. I am having quite a bit of pain in my hip and knee at night time and hadn’t thought about associating it with colour but it is certainly an interesting idea. Does it help ? your pompom colour does look quite soothing and of course it’s the colour of the spiritual chakra. I have heard of ‘colour therapy’ but am not quite sure how it works. Take care and keep writing .
Hi Patricia, sorry for the delay in responding. ( I thought I had).
The colour therapy helps me anyway but I don’t adopt any formal kind of approach.
It might be worth a try for your hip etc. It certainly can’t do any harm unless you feel compelled to climb a mountain to get a good view of blue sea beneath!!
Hope you’re back to feeling well again, Jean 😉 🙂
If my husband’s brain was not so sensibly black & white,
I’d ask him (since he’s dealt with enough pain for all of us)
what colour he’d relate it to… 🙂 ♥ ❤
Getting there, thanks. Certainly don’t envy your husband!
Glad to hear you’re on the mend 🙂 And yup… Although his body is laced with fractured/broken HPP bones, he’s the strongest guy I’ll ever know! 🙂 😦
♥ ❤
There’s certainly different kinds of strength. And a big, strong heart counts for a helluvs lot.
Indeed! We are what’s in our heart… And dwelling on pain will lower our threshold for it 🙂 ♥ ❤
So true!
Oh. That’s rough, Jean. Reading backwards, I already know you are feeling much better. I love how you combine color and pain. But I have to say that word ‘banjaxed’ has me riveted. Meaning? Cheers.
Responding backwards too!
‘Banjaxed’ means ‘messed up’ in all sorts of senses. xx
I hope you’re much better already – I’ve been doing physical therapy for my shoulder, so no stranger to back pain. (deep tissue massage seems to work wonders)
Hi Sandy, sorry to hear about your shoulder.
I seem to be ultra sensitive so deep tissue would need to be soft hankie!