target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_54f54807-9e13-5d64-8490-e7e2d7279bbb.jpg" alt=""/>My most powerful tools for wellness are within.
January 28
“To learn new habits is everything; for it is to reach the substance of life.”
HENRI FRéDéRIC AMIEL
Sometimes it seems that our illness is like a three-ring circus with many acts taking place at once. Of course, we are always in the spotlight. Each day the tyrannical ringmaster, Pain, cracks his whip and forces us to jump through hoops.
We hate being at his mercy, that goes without saying, so over time we’ve found ways to defer and even defy Pain. Now, instead of having to jump through hoops several times each day, we do so less frequently. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s the best we can do right now.
Or is it? Maybe it’s time to search for new ways to loosen Pain’s hold on us. Maybe it’s time to revise our “pain habits” and really break out of our rut.
First, we can open our minds to methods of pain control we haven’t yet tried, such as yoga, massage, and creative visualization. Second, we can review our present habits with a medical professional who specializes in pain management. Finally, we can create a new pain management plan by charting the type and degree of pain we experience, the methods we’ve used for control, and the ones that work best.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Pain changes, always. Is the same true of my responses to it?
January 29
“Sleep is better than medicine.”
ENGLISH PROVERB
Our ideas about sleep occasionally become convoluted. We begin to think of sleep as a guilty pleasure rather than a vital necessity. We envy men and women who claim to get by on just three or four hours of sleep a night. We then decide that sleep prevents us from fulfilling our daily responsibilities, when in fact just the opposite is true.
In order to overcome such distorted views, we might want to think back to the way we felt after surgery, radiation, or chemo treatments. We were tired all the time, and that wasn’t surprising; our wounded bodies needed to be healed and rejuvenated with lots and lots of sleep.
The point is, sleep is not optional. It is a vital healing force that has become more essential than ever in our lives. When we try to “get by” with the same amount of sleep as we did when we were healthy, or try to skimp on sleep because we feel guilty about it, we do ourselves a serious disservice. So let’s give ourselves permission, not just once in a while, but every day, to get as much sleep as we need.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
I will rest, and rest some more, and heal.
January 30
“Behavior is a mirror in which everyone shows his image”.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
Practically every one of us has been upset at one time or another by the insensitive way a close friend or relative is handling our illness. We’re surprised that these people aren’t more thoughtful and considerate when they’re around us, and that they don’t try to bend over backwards (just a little) in recognition of what we’re going through. But all too frequently they act just the opposite of what we expect. They are often self-centered and display inappropriate or even deplorable behavior.
Wait a minute. Is it realistic to expect that everyone we know will rise to the occasion just because we’re seriously ill? Isn’t that expecting far too much of them? The true reality is that most people react to serious illness in a manner reflecting their usual style of handling adversity or crisis. Those who tend to be angry respond angrily. Those who see themselves as perennial victims remain victims. Those who are sullen and withdrawn usually stay that way. And those who are usually kind and helpful? Well, they tend to be kind and helpful.
Here again, as in so many areas of life, we are for the most part powerless over other people’s attitudes, responses, and behavior. All we can do is state our case clearly and assertively; then let it go and get on with life.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Unrealistic expectations cause unnecessary stress.
January 31
“Even if it is to be, what end do you serve by running to meet distress?”
SENECA
During my first week of recovery from alcoholism I was befriended by a man who had been sober for many years. He urged me to write out a list of my heart’s deepest desires, and suggested that I not look at it for at least a year. He said that when I eventually did read the list I would discover that I had greatly short-changed myself; he predicted that the rewards of sobriety would be far greater than anything I could have imagined in those shaky early days. I wish I had drawn up a different kind of list in more recent years; one detailing each fear, worry, and dire projection concerning my various illnesses. That list, too, would be dramatically revealing a year or so down the line.
It would highlight my tendency to torment myself unnecessarily. It would show that most of my fears have nothing to do with the reality of the present and have everything to do with anticipation of the future.
The list would further demonstrate that things rarely turn out as badly as I imagine they will. And it would clearly show that negative thoughts about the future bring unnecessary pain into the present.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Fear is the darkroom where all my negatives are developed.
February 1
“When one is rising, standing, walking, doing something, stopping, one should constantly concentrate one’s mind on the act and the doing of it, not on ones’ relation to the act or tis character or value.”
ASHVAGOSHA
You have known for a long time that meditation is not only good for the soul but for the physical body as well. Until recently, you followed a comfortable routine, returning day after day to a quiet area where you were able to sit almost motionless for thirty minutes or more at a time, still your mind, and open yourself up to a new awareness. Lately, however, you haven’t been able to sit still or remain inactive long enough to meditate in that same way.
You might want to try walking meditation. The very act of walking will allow you to channel your thoughts, providing an array of repetitive motions and sensations
