Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Blessing of Sickness....


Being sick is never fun. I don't care what your illness may be, there is nothing worse than not feeling your best in life. Good mental and physical health are paramount to good living. Good living is where it's at. These are all very obvious statements I know, but I'm driving the point for good reason. Very often we take our health for granted and expect that it will just always be there... I know I do at least. We pass our days, eating, drinking, working, tending to our families and livelihoods without ever thinking about our precious mortality and the limited time we will spend in these vehicles we call our bodies. Our amazing bodies, working with trillions of cells and processes, electrical energy, and symbiotic microbe relationships... keep humming along and functioning whether we like it or not. They work through all the shit that we put them through and all the shit we put into them. They do their best to regenerate and continue life function, all without barely a conscious thought from us. Incredible. In fact, the only reason I'm able to write these ideas right now is because my body is taking care of itself without needing me to maintain a constant survival mentality or tell it what to do every moment of my life. It is the same reason you are able to read these words. Think about it.

Illness changes the dynamic doesn't it? When we are ill we are suddenly more aware of our bodies, of our mortality, and our time. It is often our fault and often not. It can come gradually from repeated abuse, or suddenly and unfortunately in the form of accidents and mishaps. Either way, it is not pleasant when we are experiencing it and many times the after affects can be felt for years... sometimes for the rest of our lives. Here's the flip... the other side of the coin.... the silver lining in the cloud.... the blessing.

Being sick reminds you that you are a living entity... a mortal.....that will someday be gone from this life. It reminds you of how precious your moments in life really are and what they are really worth. It can awaken new revelations in purpose and dreams and re-energize parts of your spirit that were hidden or bogged down by all of the crap we put on top of it. Time becomes glaringly aware when you realize you only have so much of it to live.

Recently I experienced a pretty serious case of food poisoning.... a few straight days of not being able to eat anything solid and barely keeping even base liquids like water down. I lost 10lbs in two days and endured severe pain and suffering. I am actually still not healed yet. However, in the throes of my battle I was blessed over and over again.... increased body awareness, increased sense of self, increased sense of love and concern from friends and family, and an acute awareness of time in my body were great positives I walked away with. I also had an intensified sense of smell, taste, and touch. Everything smells sooooo good to me, especially food! I can't wait to get a bite of something delicious and nutritious tomorrow! Being sick has been a total blessing when I look at the lessons and experiences that have coincided with it!

Do yourself a favor and don't wait until you are sick (like I do) to give your body the respect and care it deserves. When you wake up in the morning, listen to your heart beat for a few minutes. Listen to the steady rhythm of precious blood pumping through your veins. Imagine your cells working, reproducing, regenerating by the millions every second... to give you another day on this planet. You are an amazing feat of nature, represented uniquely, in a one of a kind expression of LIFE! Make the best of it! Hope you all have a great, healthy, body-aware day. Jeremy

P.S. What should my first solid meal be??? I'm so excited! Any suggestions?

1 comment:

  1. i love how positive you sound. great going! thank you for sharing this. these reminders do wonders!...get well soon. ishita :)

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