I got a massage today and oh-boy did he work some trigger points. Our natural response is to feel the pain and pull away or tighten up. But if we do that, the muscle will stay locked up longer and the pain will last longer too.

Instead, we need to act counter-intuitively and breathe into the pain and relax into the discomfort which then allows the release to occur. My quickest releases came when I laughed.

This seems like a darn good metaphor for life. If we want things to stay the same then tightening up and resisting when any pain or discomfort show up is a good plan (this would include anything unfamiliar or outside of our comfort zone). But if we want positive change then we need to use that discomfort. We need to relax into it, and breathe, and be present, and let go.