As I lay here trying to sleep I find myself preoccupied with an idea. Pain is merely a signal sent from a nerve to the brain where it is translated. Imagine for the moment if we could affect this process. What if we could tell the brain to ignore the signal?
It sounds good at first, but it didn't take me long to make the following realizations. Pain is a main contributor to fear. Whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual pain is more often the negative consequence of an action that is meant to discourage a behavior.
Pain tells us not to leave our hand on the stove. We are not afraid of the stove, we are afraid of being burned. Fear tells us to keep our distance from a large strange dog. We do not fear the dog only the pain of the bite. If we take away the pain we essentialy take away the fear. Pain or the idea of pain if one of the great controllers of man.
Those of us who are larger in musculature and frame may perceive less pain than others. Additionally the size and fitness differences increase the likelyhood of success in a conflict. As a result the perception of fear is reduced because it tied to the likelyhood of pain. How does this impact individual limitations?
To take away pain is to remove consequence. In removing consequence we remove control and ultimately plunge humankind into chaos. I started my thoughts with the idea that pain and fear were mans great limiters. I imagined a world without these limits. As I come to my final conclusion I realize that our limits define us. Without fear and pain we have no control and without control nothing emerges but chaos. It seems ironic to be defined by that which limits us as opposed to all that does not.
