Today, you get 2 quotes for the price of 1!
“Pain is temporary while growth is permanent.”
Pain is temporary – except when you ignore the temporary pain and it becomes a life-long injury!
“Pain is weakness leaving your body”
Really? I thought pain was the body’s warning system that something was wrong.
Perhaps these quotes started out in the right context. That is, mild discomfort is to be expected when you are working out hard and encouragement to not give up when things get hard is important. Yet, in some deranged way, on the TM campus these sayings (quoted often and by nearly everyone) have become synonymous with the ideas that:
a) nearly all pain is inconsequential, unimportant and should be ignored
b) experiencing pain is a sign that you are spiritually growing
Interns are zealous people, that is why they are at the HA in the first place. If you tell them they have to do xyz in order grow closer to the Lord, they WILL do it. Interns are conditioned to think that pushing through their pain makes them more spiritual, so they will push through their pain, even to their own long-term detriment. They are taught that listening to their body is just giving in to their flesh.
Because of this, interns are not inclined to self-report when they have an injury. Dave Hasz and the rest of TM leadership would like you to believe it is the intern’s fault when this happens. Dave would claim that the intern had multiple options to report it and failed to do so.
Yeah, right.
Why would someone self-report an injury and choose to withdraw from corporate exercise or ESOAL when they will feel nothing but condemnation from their own hearts and their peers? If the choice is between taking care of your body and taking care of your soul – is that really a choice?
When interns fail to report their injuries for fear of shame and condemnation, the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the leadership that taught these ideas and fostered a culture that promoted them.
You might think I’m exaggerating. But if TM is not actively promoting this culture – then why do so many interns believe and behave this way? I guarantee they didn’t come to the internship like that.
2 comments:
- JoyG said…
- “If the choice is between taking care of your body and taking care of your soul- is that really a choice?” I think that really nails the heart motive of interns and Christians who desperately deny emotional or physical trauma in order to achieve spiritual growth. Interesting that the image of Christ as a “Shepherd” suggests that He is trying to protect his people from all kinds of harm. I can’t imagine a shepherd being callous when his sheep are deyhdrated, frostbitten, or exhausted. His goal is to promote their wellbeing. God made humans whole and wanted total wellness for us. As a “bridegroom” to the Church, Jesus doesn’t treat us like, “Sorry, honey, that you dislocated your shoulder, but keep hauling those bricks because I’m going to love you more if you do.” What? He would be an awful “husband” if he treated his bride like that. The God I know would drop what He’s doing and run to side of an injured beloved. Don’t forget- the “Head” is supposed to nurture and lay down his life for the body. He doesn’t expect or demand abusive treatment of oneself to win brownie points. Anybody else?
- Katydid said…
- Well said..