Pain is Everywhere

Over the years, and especially traveling the past 7 months through 8 states, I've visited a lot of different health clubs, from national brands to local community recreation centers. One constant, I've concluded, is that an awful lot of people are in pain. I don't mean physical pain, although in some cases it may be related, but psychological pain.

The symptoms, in my opinion, can include unwillingness to make eye contact, severe/serious facial expressions, artificial posture, and generally closing out the rest of the world. To be clear, I'm not criticizing others; a younger me exhibited these same symptoms. Moreover, these symptoms are not restricted to when people health clubs; it just strikes me that they are so evident in that environment. Maybe this is because people are insecure about how they look or think they look great and want people to know it.

Maybe its just that I'm getting older and can now see the pain in others that I used (and sometimes still do) to sometimes feel; frankly, I think all humans exhibit some of these symptoms from time to time. Whether it results from just having a bad day, general insecurity, heightened anxiety, a feeling that one has been wronged, or that the world is not fair; all of these can cause pain. I really noticed this in Bakersfield at the local health club chain but am convinced it is everywhere; not sure I ever saw anyone smile (in the health club or elsewhere) in Bakersfield. Now in Tucson, I joined LAfitness and see the same symptoms in so many people. Although I have no data to back this up, it seems young people suffer the most.

I don't know but maybe this pain is related to why we hear so much these days about random shootings and other acts of violence; people feel isolated, wronged, treated unfairly, etc. Maybe I'm crazy but it seems like we could relieve a lot of pain and suffering in the world if we would all just make eye contact, smile, and say hello to our fellow humans:) After that, world peace is just a matter of living in the present instead of the past:)