When Pleasure met Peace on its way to meet Pain

I haven't read Tuesdays with Morrie, though a very close friend gave it to me over 10 years ago...it is faithfully on my book shelf, waiting for me to open it and take it in.  For some reason, whatever it is, the inspiration hasn't been there to read it yet, but I will:-)  Anyhow, the book title came to mind as I reflected on a what-I believe-to-be a similar relationship with my neighbour.  We are currently meeting regularly to discuss things pertaining to life, growth and learning.  I am so grateful for these times to connect with my neighbor, they nurture, spark and inspire me on my path of living...what more can you ask for in a connection:-)

Anyhow, the concept today that has left a lasting impression on my cognition is: how do polarities meet? what happens when they do? what is creativity? and what is the objective of cognition, discernment and ultimately living?  As you can tell, these conversations are rather trivial:-)

As I am meant to be studying Motor Control and Motor Learning, I am actually not going to take a bunch of time to type away to my chattery brains content, I'm just going to leave a small trail of my thought processes, even so I can return to it at a later point and reflect.

What I'm thinking is, if we put Pain and Pleasure at opposite ends of a spectrum or continuum (hmmm, I wonder what the difference/similarities are between spectrum and continuum?), what happens when one presents more strongly or acutely in us?  I know, from personal experience, that when pain is felt in my being, that I crave pleasure (or maybe peace), though I don't always KNOW exactly how to effectively and efficiently manifest or experience it.  I feel like I would appreciate the relief pleasure offers when I am experiencing pain, and I would say that I aspire to move towards peace in general.  Would I say the same about aspirations for pain if I felt excessive pleasure?  I was at a talk not so long ago where the speaker, a pediatrician who works with a Steiner philosophy, mentioned that we go looking for drama, as conflict/discomfort is the space that growth occurs.  Pulling in the biology concept that all cells function on healthy/appropriate stress lines (or eustress lines, a concept Neil Pearson shared at a Yoga for Chronic Pain workshop), I would say the idea that if we are abiding in pleasure we go looking for pain (regardless of the intensity) in order to grow resonates.  This reflects well with my previous blog: I am Movement.  If I am movement, then swinging on a pendulum between experiences of opposites might be what...well, what inspires me in the directions that I ultimately move...but does that mean, like a pendulum on Earth I am ultimately moving towards stillness, or is my pendulum in a vacuum, or maybe I'm not a pendulum at all:-)

Must get back to studying.  Thanks for reading.

p.s. The original title was "When Peace met Pain".  However, this does not properly articulate the opposites I was holding in my thoughts.  Peace is not the opposite of pain, pleasure is.  Peace, I have found, is at the balanced center between pain and pleasure.