I believe that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes in our lives we are forced by forces outside ourselves to have “down time.” This may come in the form of a lay-off, an injury, or a cold. When we push too hard, we tap ourselves out energy-wise and there must always be balance…so if we don’t stop and take the rest we need, our bodies will stop us, or another power will.
Right now I am dealing with the “annoyance” of a cold. I have had a pretty challenging year, filled with more injuries and events in the first half of the year than I’ve had in the dozen years or so before it. I know that if I don’t take care of myself, then I’m more prone to injury. I’ve learned that the hard way this year. So when I got this cold as my parting gift from Hopkins, I couldn’t help but be a little upset for a brief moment. That moment was admittedly brief though, because I knew that I’d pushed myself very hard the two weeks prior and I’d also been eating terribly. Part of eating was celebratory as friends took me out for drinks or lunches to celebrate my last week at Hopkins. Part of the eating was comfort eating since I had given myself another injury a week ago, almost cutting my thumb off. Part of it was just “giving up” for that period of time. If you combine that with non-stop sick people all around you for a week straight, well, you guessed it…you end up with a cold.
So there is no one to blame but myself for the fact that I ran myself down, and that I ate terribly, and let my immune system drop down to the point where I made myself susceptible. But all that being said, it is still a forced way to have down time. The body is wise. So here I am, on a lovely Sunday morning, and having to fight all the desires I had to get up and go to the farmer’s market, or go to the grocery store, or what have you. I have to respect the exhaustion I feel and the yuckiness, because if I don’t then I’ll be sick even longer.
If you find yourself forced to have some down time, then take that time to consider how you may best restore yourself. Have you been pushing yourself too hard? Do you need a massage or to do some yoga or tai chi to help rejuvenate your body and soul? Have you been missing out on spending quality time with your friends or family? Do you maybe just need to spend time reading to your kids or cuddling with your spouse? Have you not let anyone take care of you and now that you are sick or injured, you must learn this lesson of accepting help?
Believe me, there is always a lesson. So what is your lesson this time? Learning your body’s limits? Learning what it is you need to thrive? For me, it’s just another reminder of what happens when I don’t eat well and don’t give myself enough rest. It’s a lifelong learning and battle to come to that middle ground. I’ll get there. I might get sick a couple more times along the way, but it will be pretty sweet when I get there.
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