Appropriate for so many reasons.
I was thinking tonight about how pain changes a person. Most of the time we think of those changes as bad and we don't really give much thought to the other bits.
One thing that has changed for me is the depth and layers of everything. I don't think I was shallow before, just naive. People have so many angles I never even considered before. Now when I see a person my immediate impression still jumps to mind but so do a dozen others and I rarely accept the first. Nothing is what you think, no one is so simple, and everyone has a story, layer after layer.
I've become adept at recognizing physical pain on other people. I watch for visual cues that someone has pain. I notice how you guard your core, how you fold your arms and your shoulders. When you realize your clenching your jaw and you make an effort to stop. When you gently reach out and squeeze a muscle you can longer ignore. I see you shy away from people, and flinch from a playful pat. I see the micro pause before a curb and after you open your car door to get in. I watch you debate the top shelf and the bottom. I make eye contact with you and hope you see my empathy, I hope you know you're not alone and that it helps you make it through your day.
When I read a book I can tell if that person has ever had physical pain, it's so obvious to me now that I wonder how I missed it before. I mark the passages that only a person who suffered could write. It's amazing, like waking up and knowing a new language without recalling the learning. People can tell you a lot without ever telling you a thing.
I know it sounds strange but there are little bits of charm tucked away in pain.