Pain has a way of shrinking the world. 

 Shoulders creep up, breath gets shallow, and attention locks onto one thing: the hurt. In that moment, it can feel like there are no other options, and the thought “there’s no way this gets better” feels completely true. But a narrow view isn’t the full picture. It’s what a protective body does when it’s trying to keep you safe. A small dose of curiosity, even just “I wonder what else is possible here?”, can loosen that grip a little. Not all at once, and not perfectly. But when the view widens even slightly, other possibilities have room to show up.