Chronic Pain

Most of my life I have been pain free. So it has been easy for me to not show a lot of patience or concern about those that complain about back pain or whatever may ill them. This last week or so I have been experiencing real pain that has forced me to be humble enough to see a chiropractor for relief. The frustration is that I have been physical my whole life, actually doing concrete work without ever hurting myself. Yet, lifting the Mango dog in and out of my little van did something horrific to my lower back. So I at times can’t bend over which can be rather embarrassing and painful.

Yesterday we were doing our usual games at Hermoso Park Rec Center. I’m so fortunate to have lots of good friends that partner with us in doing community work. It’s awesome to have staff with the city of Phoenix who do care big time about the at risk population that lives around the parks in my neighborhood. The challenge or opportunity is knowing how to deal with some of the youth or young adults that are living totally on the edge. The difficulty is that often a few can spoil life for the many. So this becomes another type of chronic pain in the you know what.

I do have a passion for seeing lives turned around regardless of how far out they might be at the present. The difficulty is when a few continue to do what are definitely ‘dumb’ things than it becomes hard to know what action to take. Much like I had to eventually concede that my back wasn’t going to improve without doing something different. So is it wrong to be the tough leader who is ready to confront ongoing issues with the few who make it difficult for the many? I think it is time that those who spoil it for the many be enlightened as to what they need to do to get back on track and not waste their lives and sidetrack those around them.

I was pulled aside by one of the staff at this great rec center to brainstorm about what to do with a few of the teens and adults that need life adjustments. Much like I’ve had to go back to my Dermatologist to have more skin cancer sites removed we needed to strategize as to what would help in our situation otherwise the cancer of gang mentality could take over the park and rec center. It is so difficult to intersect someone’s life if they aren’t open to consider that there might be a different way to live.

I had recently confronted one of these teens about whether he had stolen from one of my workers in the last week. The difficulty was that I had a witness that saw him actually do it. So listening to this teen on the edge lie to me was rather frustrating. It is so easy in too many situations to get away with doing evil without ever suffering the consequences. The punishment was to ban this individual from participating in many of our activities. This won’t necessarily stop him from stealing again but at least not from one of my key leaders.

One of my favorite quotes that I’ve snatched off LinkedIn had something to do with how indecision can ultimately hurt everyone and that the person who chooses to stand up and do something will make a difference in the world around them. So it’s time to quit being indecisive with the actions of those around us and become change agents.