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Worst pain? Flying over my handlebars while going down a hill on my bike as a kid. I used my head to break my fall with the help of the sidewalk. Lesson? Always wear a helmet when cycling.
Worst agony? The brief moment while the urologist removed the rubber catheter tube from my urethra. I can't say it hurt much, but—holy shit—was it agonizing. Thank god I was out when they put that thing in. Lesson? Don't complain if it isn't kidney stones.
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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