who experiences pain almost daily, yet I count myself as fortunate and capable. Why fortunate when much in our culture instills fear of increasing misery as we grow older? Why capable when some of the activities I lived for I can no longer do? The compassion and wisdom of my elders when I was a child, combined with some dharma I inherited as an adult, taught me that pain is a part of life, that there’s a difference between pain and suffering, and that knowing that difference can help us make wise choices about spiritual practice and medical care. What I
