I love my clients...all of them; I appreciate their unique personalities and problems...each and every one. But sometimes, one particular person enters our life who is very special, who almost makes me feel like I should be the one paying them!

I had the joy of working with such a client; a spry 85 yr old woman who sought me out for pain relief. Recently, due to an increase in deaths due to prescription drug overdose, the powers-that-be have imposed restrictions on pain med usage, limiting renewals especially to those who utilize state-supported services.

So here is this lovely lady, suffering and not knowing what to do with her pain. Luckily, her naturopath pointed her in my direction. Our session was fantastic; within a short time she was pain-free and as she left my office, the feeling persisted. I was also elated; interacting with such a human being underscored the reason I do this work.

As I guided her in allowing her hand to become anesthetized through the power of her imagination, she smiled and I wondered what prompted that little grin. Later, she explained that as I moved through the patter, she internally recited this poem by Emily Dickinson, letting it become an anchor for the pain relief.

After great pain a formal feeling comes--
The nerves sit ceremonious like tombs;
The stiff Heart questions--was it He that bore?
And yesterday--or centuries before?

The feet, mechanical, go round
A wooden way
Of ground, or air, or ought,
Regardless grown,
A quartz contentment, like a stone.

This is the hour of lead
Remembered if outlived,
As freezing persons recollect the snow--
First chill, then stupor, then the letting go.

How miraculous, the human mind is...what would Emily think, upon hearing how my client utilized her words to let go of her pain?

Love.