“Call me selfish – Call me a loser if you like, but I have done the following for my own personal gain and to benefit my future.” This was My Linked-In friend’s status update. She was suffering from an illness. There was no denial. Sickness was speaking to her.
But isn’t sickness bad?
That’s what I used to think. Until I came across this quote from the best-selling author, Susan Kennedy.
“Do you ever think that the reason we haven’t found a cure for the common cold is because the common cold is the cure?”
-Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy (S.A.R.K.)
Turn my volume up and take in this new insight.
Sickness Speaks in the Gnaw of a Question
I reviewed pages back and forth of her handwritten journal. Yet, the wisdom in her earlier question still had my ear. Her book, Transformation Soup: Healing for the Splendidly Imperfect, theorized the common cold exists to slow us down.
The more I thought about it, the same type of things came to mind. Didn’t it say somewhere suffering can be a gift?
- Buddha?
- Gandhi?
- Jesus?
That’s insane. Does sickness speak to us?
In a flash, my thoughts focused on the symptoms of sickness.
- Tiredness
- Cough
- Fever
- Runny Nose
- Chills
- Aches
Interesting, yes, these many symptoms of sickness speak and slow us down.
Photo by Oles kanebckuu on Pexels.com
Sickness Talks through Recovery?
Then, I discovered my editor’s surgery. As I emailed her at home, I fought my impulse to tell her to get well soon. Was her recovery, like sickness, speaking?
Is the reason for her recovery to rest and not to get right back to work?
Bestselling author and artist S.A.R.K looked at the usefulness of the common cold.
As I read her words, I wondered. How do I get over a cold? Well, I eat hot chicken soup, stay in bed for days, and watch as the rest heals me.
Wait. Can I watch rest heal me? That’s how sickness speaks!
Curious, I read the next page and the next until, at last, I discovered her main idea.
“There’s room to examine the perfection of sickness and the gifts and lessons it brings us.”
Perfection in sickness?
More books I read came to mind.
Perfection in Sickness Speaks Well
Perfection in sickness is a dramatic claim. The implications meant that sickness somehow communicates with the body on purpose.
This, she explained, included an invitation to find the gift in sickness. Sick with a common cold, we appreciate the unnoticed luxuries in our lives. I never considered that.
- Should I look at recovery in the same light?
- What’s the hidden lesson in my editor’s recovery?
“The word rest has not really been a part of my vocabulary either. I’m a Marine brat, and I just feel the need to excel in everything and push myself. I’m learning that I cannot do that as I get older. Well, my mind wants to, but my body doesn’t. I have spent most of this weekend lying on the couch doing only a bit of work here and there. Yet I still feel guilty that I haven’t gotten much done.”
Her military family background forged beliefs that taught her growth comes with pushes. But S.A.R.K. suggested personal growth comes from acceptance. Yes, a more intense acceptance of who we already are—children of the Universe.
If I accept my legacy as a child, would I find a separation between my desire and my fate? Would I discover the power in my sickness and health? Is this the virtue of faith in practice?
If every day I drive myself like a workhorse to achieve, my body will break down. I can’t afford to ignore its requests for rest and relaxation.
Eastern Be and Western Do’s: Speak in Sickness or Health
How profound! Something deeper within invites me to think about being, not doing.
People fall into a trap when they drive themselves to achieve. It’s hard to gain inner worth if it’s captured by our outward accomplishments. Yet your body understands patience and persistence are much different from this drive.
A hammer drives home a nail; it doesn’t guide or tap it. It strikes the nail hard into the board. Often, I find myself empty of leads at the end of the day. I choose to let go of the drive to carry this search for my health’s sake.
As my doctor said today, “You can turn it off and on whenever you want.”
I realized this after I sacrificed sleep to earn my master’s degree. I couldn’t keep up my habits of all-nighters for long after graduation. That was not how I would run a business or search for work either. My body told me I couldn’t push it in the same way I had.
If I did, it would need a major repair. I paid more attention to my unhealthy actions as my dad was diagnosed with early dementia.
This disease runs on both sides of my family tree. It’s necessary. I must take care of myself. If not, I won’t be there for my wife and son late into their lives.
Decisions, Health or Illness’s Intimate Conversation
Recent scientific studies have shown Alzheimer’s and dementia are not a result of age. Researchers looked at their statistics and concluded these diseases were avoidable.
As a result, doctors urge younger patients:
- Eat a nutritious diet
- Get eight hours of sleep
- Exercise often
- Make more frequent medical checkups as they age
They say your body knows what is best for you if you listen to it.
The challenge is to know how to listen.
This is in the highlight reel of your thoughts, actions, and consequences.
I sense this is what my body wants to share with me as I grow older. Patience and persistence are the opposite of the no-pain, no-gain drive philosophy. It’s like mixing the oil of eastern philosophy with the water of western philosophy.
American achievement-based self-satisfaction doesn’t harmonize with Eastern philosophy.
Whether I want to admit it or not, age sides with patience, consistency, and the language of the body.
Unmask Recovery and Sickness: Speak up for healthier choices
The trick is to ask:
If I say yes, this answer has made room for concern.
When the body breaks down in sickness, self-care is our unique gift. So, if healing or recovery doesn’t come as we hoped, it’s time to ask another question.
Also, reflect on your thoughts about sickness, rest, and relaxation. Be honest with yourself and recognize the three causes of sickness or more.
- Neglect of our bodies
- Sickness from nature and man
- Terminal illness
- Even genetics
Ask yourself more questions.
- What do you need to do or know to avoid this sickness in the future?
- How do you accept sickness if it means changing your lifestyle and habits?
Then, as you ask, act. Move into concrete action and watch for consequences.
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In Signs and Patterns Sickness Speaks
Ask others for help if you see a recurring pattern in your negative choices, especially, if you sense you can break their cycle. Tell your community you need them and their support. For instance, I use accountability buddies for my self-care. Be aware that humanity can heal you also, so open this channel.
Last, let the consequences of your actions reveal the thoughts behind them. Faulty thought patterns can cause sickness, suffering, and discomfort.
Watch out if you see a long pattern of negative thoughts tied to negative consequences. Depression and other longstanding harmful symptoms are signals for medical help. See someone trained to reach out to you.
The Feeling Good Handbook is a great guide to get you in touch with the voice inside that gives the wrong advice. Check for it in your local library too.
As you accept this quiet surrender of sickness, listen, slow down. Receive the goodness that surrounds you in your appreciation of the often-unnoticed things.
Goodness Encircles Sickness
Feel it in the hot water of your shower and the warm blankets that cover you. But especially pay attention to the powerful medicine of self-care.
How do you take care of yourself?
Often our aches, groans, and pains reveal the need for a change in lifestyle or habit. Pay attention to the setting when and where you make unwise self-care decisions. Bring this into your awareness as you accept the possibility of self-inflicted suffering.
This is a message of accountability we’d rather not hear. Yet, when we do and invite the healer in, our restoration is set to take place.
Wrap Up: Recovery and Sickness Speak
My Linked-In friend knew she was sick, yet it taught her a lesson. She listened and reprioritized her life.
This led to her doing less.
- She stepped down from a committee
- Stopped her podcast
- Quit marketing
She felt the wax dripping on both sides of her activity calendar and made changes. What does sickness teach you? Share below.
Next time you’re sick, remember this post. Listen to your body and to its sickness as it speaks to a better you.
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