Accommodation

A sly and cunning invader he is! Seemingly without cause, he creeps into the crevices of joints and muscle tendons with his incessant throbbing and resistance to nimble movement. In the quiet of my day I call him out as the uninvited intruder that he is. I speak not a kind word to him; rather I identify him as what he is, wretched and wrought with inconvenience. I seek to find a place or position absent his antagonism. I resist him by attempting to ignore his taunting. Finally, I let him know that although he is not the victor, I accept his presence as a temporary squatter who knows perfectly well he cannot reside permanently. Accommodating his annoyance temporarily is an exercise in stress reduction while standing firmly on the experience that he is not a permanent resident. Gratitude for infrequent visits further fills this cup to overflowing. Affirmed in thankfulness and endowed with recollection, I look at the visitor knowing that “this too shall pass.”