Growing from sickness
Sickness is not a warzone, we do not survive a disease, nor is it our enemy. Sickness is an indication that something is wrong in our body, it is a calling, a message from our body asking for our attention and care.
Our body, this beautiful divine and amazing complex creation we have been fortunate to live in, to explore, to care for and nurture, the temple of our mind, heart and soul. A divine manifestation of wisdom that is so much a part of us, not a mere shell but truly a part of us, a dimension of what makes us who we are.
Our body is a part of us, it is not a separate entity, whether we love our body, hate it and anything in between, this body is an integral part of who we are, of our experience of ourselves, for better or worse. It is the wisdom that the body expresses that we can tune into and learn from, listen to and respond to. If our body manifests a disease, it is a cry for help, not a battle to win. We must work with love, patience and persistence to find the best way to heal, to care, to continuously bring our body back to balance and harmony.
Just as with any disharmony we may find in our lives, in friendships, romantic affairs, professional choices, etc., we need to find how to care for ourselves. Seeing a relationship or a choice we made as an enemy is not helpful in the long run.
I often hear or read people making statements such as: I survived cancer, I’m battling a mental illness or I beat a disease – be it depression, arthritis or Hashimoto’s.
I do not see the illnesses that manifest in our physical or mental body as our enemies, while it may feel like that sometimes, I don’t think it is a positive, loving or helpful way to live or understand our body.
We all have experienced some sickness, some disease, and developing feelings of shame and guilt, thinking “I created this and therefore I’m terrible”. These ways of thought are not only harmful and unsupportive, but also completely miss the point. Our body is a manifestation of wisdom, and listening to it can teach us what is good and wholesome for us, what is supportive for our well-being and what is not. Just as we can listen to dreams – not all dreams are powerful and guiding. Some of them can simply shed light on our doubts, reveal to us hidden feelings that we may not feel comfortable expressing, or purely expose things that trouble us.
Self-care and self-love are not mere slogans of spa and beauty salons, they are our life’s work and a natural manifestation of health. A healthy person, just like a small child, loves themselves in a simple and wholesome way. Expressing care is an integral part of each and every choice we make, doing everything for our better good, for our higher good, as an expression of natural care.
A healthy baby with the ability to cry, cries because it is their unconscious expression of self-care, a totally natural way to care for their needs, express feelings and request support. A baby is completely dependent on the adult or adults around them for their survival, and they naturally do everything they can to care for themselves, for their higher good.
A person who is sick, that is suffering from an illness can choose to see this illness as a curse, a battlefield. Or they can see it as an expression of certain needs, wisdom and guidance for change, for love and care.
Having a body inevitably means we have needs to care for, it also means sickness and health are not static, but a flow. We walk on the bridge, with love we try to create a harmonious life, nurture a harmonious way of living, way of thinking.
The world is not our enemy, our partner is not our enemy, our family and friends are not our enemy, nor is our boss or our duties, responsibilities or tasks we need to do. They are not our enemy, our mother is not our enemy, nor are our sicknesses.
If our experience here on this planet or in our very own skin feels like a war, it would be wise to change that. For our own higher good.
