The gift of a tiny bit of illness

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Hmmm…I have had a brief touch of (what I assume to be) food poisoning, over the last 48 hours.

This has powerfully reminded me of some valuable lessons:-

I LOVE being healthy.

I LOVE being able to EAT.

i really appreciate my body usually staying at the same temperature, more or less all-over, more or less most of the time, in any given minute.

My body deserves more respect with regard to what I put in it – yes – even more. I’m pretty darned fussy already! – but clearly not fussy enough.

Going slow has its benefits. I have made that bold, in order to remind myself. I must try to sustain a slower pace. (Wonder how long THAT will last!)

It IS possible to not go to work; the world does not end. Nor does the relief teacher permanently take your job, just because she was called in for 1 day  (Will I live to regret that assertion …….? = That’s how anxious I get.)

One thing I could NEVER be, is bulimic: I absolutely HATE throwing up. I’ve done a lot of thngs to stay slim ………..(not lately, mind you!)…..but I could NEVER use this approach.

We take so much for granted, just by getting up, getting dressed, breathing and walking around every day.

One of my students has Hepatitis C. She has to inject herself every Friday with Interferon, which is, like chemotherapy, a powerful drug with a purpose… it makes her sick for days, which is why it’s done on a Friday, in the vain hope that by Monday she will be well enough to face the world again. Not so, though. While I was having my paltry symptoms, I thought of her, and her resolve to manage to keep giving herself those injections, every week without fail, despite the sure knowledge of what ensues. It’s so courageous.

I think this was my body’s way of making me take a step back from my busy-ness. Lately I am always trying to do multiple things at once. I just don’t stop much, any more. And when I do, it is eating or drinking for comfort, for reward, for compensation. Re-assessment is (once again) necessary, and a tiny touch of illness encourages that to happen.

In these aspects, it’s been a gift.

And I feel better, now. Which allows me to take interest in things, including writing here.

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Filed under coping

Tags: anxiety, gratitude, illness