The pain was still there; on day ten, I woke up, if anything, more beaten up than when I’d gone to sleep. But not all pain is the same. Pain can be high or low; it can be deep or shallow. Pain has more than one axis. As I wrestled through the Bayou, I checked in with my own pain load. It was increasing in intensity, no question, but decreasing in effect. My pain was getting less painful—which might sound ridiculous, but you’ll know what I mean if you routinely push yourself in the gym or if you have the misfortune to live with a chronic illness or disability. Some of us are familiar with a
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