This morning, I prepared to send my weekly email. In it, I braced myself for telling my subscribers there would be no weekly post this week. As I began to explain why there would be no post, I realized that WAS the post.
You see, this week, I got sick. I don’t like being sick; I don’t have time for it. But sometimes my body ignores my calendar and to-do list. Wednesday morning I reluctantly went to the doctor, and she ordered me to go home . . . to go home, get into bed and REST for three to four days. “THREE TO FOUR DAYS! I have things to do. I can’t lay around for three to four DAYS!” She knows me, so she said, “Ok, but you can either rest for three to four days and feel 100% better, or drag around for two to three weeks. Your choice.”
Nobody likes a smart aleck doctor! Not true, I actually absolutely love my doctor. Thankfully, I don’t have to see much of her, but when I do, she’s amazing. She’s thorough, competent, and understanding.
So, home I went, to rest. (This would be a great place for you to insert an eye roll in your head for me.) Actually, I planned to do anything but rest; I just would do it from home, while seated or reclining, in between medicine-induced naps.
This was my plan, but not my body’s plan. My body was fighting a battle, and with the help of some good medicine, it won. But I accomplished very little of what I had planned while on Medically Ordered Rest.
But resting gave me time to reflect, and I want to share with you the things I realized. Here are my Lessons from the Recliner.
Almost all of us get sick at one time or another.
Lesson One: Listen to the Professionals.
I consulted a doctor–someone who successfully completed a ton of education, and examinations, and on-the-job training–and then wanted to dismiss what she told me. That wastes my time and the doctor’s time. Consult with a professional when you are ready to get, and heed, professional advice.
I’m not discounting that we gather some wisdom going through life, nor am I asserting that professionals are not sometimes wrong. However, if we choose our professional well, our our default setting should be to listen to the professionals we choose. Maintain a healthy skepticism, and ask questions, but acknowledge that they probably know more than you in their area of expertise.
This applies to other professionals as well, not just the medical field. Accountants know more about accounting, money, finances and the like. Lawyers know more about the law. Counselors know more about mental health situations. Landscapers know more about plants, drainage, and plant aesthetics. Spiritual coaches know more about the interaction of the soul and spirit.
Lesson Two: Blame and Cause are Not the Same Thing.
There was no one to blame for my being sick. I hadn’t overworked, or been reckless with my health. This wasn’t MY fault. It also wasn’t anyone else’s fault. I didn’t “catch” this from a co-worker or family member. At some unknown juncture in life, I picked up a bacterial infection.
However, my doctor and I talked about causation. This is the third time I’ve been diagnosed with this particular condition in about five years. She ordered some lab work and a consult with a specialist. I think she’s being overly cautious, but better overly-cautious than negligent.
When we focus on BLAME, our focus is on the problem. This is a negative mindset that isn’t productive. When we focus on CAUSE, our focus is on the solution, and this is a positive mindset. Blame keeps us mired in the present; Cause lifts our eyes forward to the future. Identifying a cause can help us avoid returnin to the same situation in the future, and that’s productive.
Make it about learning from the situation rather than just trying to identify who or what to blame.
Lesson Three: This is Life.
Life happens, and this is a part of life. This is central to the lessons I’ve been learning the last few years, and the lessons that I’m trying to share with all of you now. There are times when we live HARD. We stay really busy. There’s a deadline, a big event in our lives (such as a wedding), or deadline at work. Perhaps there’s a crisis–someone is sick and needs extra care. Those times must be balanced by times when we live EASY. We relax, rest, and refuel. We play and laugh and enjoy. This creates a rhythm to life that can be sustainable.
The issue comes when we try to live hard all the time. This becomes our normal. However, neither our bodies nor our souls can maintain that pace. Your body tires, and you become susceptible to injury and disease. Your soul starves. This creates hardened hearts and distance from relationships. You need to experience joy and love. You need beauty and pleasure. Time is required for these things.
Seek an appropriate rhythm in your life. Live HARD, but also remember to live EASY.
Life must contain a balance of working hard and taking it easy. Too much of either is harmful. Share on XSo let’s recap.
- Listen to the professionals. Choose them carefully, but make your default to listen and heed their advice.
- Look for the cause from which you can learn, and not the blame you can assign. The former will help you learn and grow; the latter will just waste your energy.
- Accept that times of working hard must be balanced with times of going easy.
Those are my Lessons from the Recliner.
What lessons are you learning from life? Let me invite you to follow me on Facebook and Instagram (@TammyHicksJackson), and join us in the Pursuing Passionate Peace group to talk more about this. Or you can leave a comment below, or drop me an email.