Lack of sleep, an early boarding time, and ninety minutes of turbulence put a twinge in my lower back. A bumpy second flight, and the car trip home turned a twinge into real lower back pain: I Advil’ed up and avoided bending and lifting. Continued stretching, a heating pad, and an adjustment from a chiropractor had my back feeling better – not back to normal, but on its way.

It’s not the first time I’ve had lower back pain, and airplane turbulence isn’t the only reason for it. Stress, grief, exhaustion, and a lack of physical activity can lock my spine in a vise grip. Everything I usually do is affected until restorative sleep and gentle exercise loosen things up. I’m forced to put much of life on hold, and left to contemplate how my own actions and inactions had a major role in my sorry state. Then I get around to asking the big question: 

What needs to change?

I have no control over turbulence on a flight. I do have control over whatever internal turbulence is jolting my emotional life. When I forget this truth, a pain in the back shows up to remind me.