What Illness Teaches Me

One of the things that I learn when I'm sick is more how others feel.  Whether it is back pain or a cold or some muscle ache I've gone through, first hand experience gives me insight into what others face.  We may think we know what it is like to walk in the shoes of another person, but until we've walked in their footsteps, we truly don't understand it.

Even if we have been through some period of illness or pain, time often helps us forget the true ordeal we went through.  Yes, we may remember many parts of what happened, but so much of it gets lost in time.

I'm not promoting the concept that we should be sick and in pain all the time.  This would not be fun for anything and I would think is opposite to the human experience as one can be.  Yet, I know that when we face those rough moments in life, we're much more compassionate towards others.


It is through illness, that we learn.  Illness and pain become our teachers.  Whether it is for how we relate to other people or how we learn to heal ourselves, illness and pain teach us.

Recently I had one of those challenging moments where the pains were so intense and many fears of the past surfaced.  I knew it was an opportunity for further growth and learning.  I attempted to do this experience without medications such as muscle relaxers and pain pills.  Believe me, there were a few times that I thought I was crazy.

Yet, in the midst of the ordeal, I found a healing moment that I enacted within my body.  I didn't realize I could heal myself in the way that I did.  I learned that if I go in and interact with my own biology, that so much can happen.  Yes, I know this already, but what happened the other day took this to a different level.

If you're going through rough moments of illness in life, don't give up hope.  I'm not going to paint a pretty picture and claim that all is okay.  I know those struggles can be terrifying, difficult, and what seems as never ending.  There may be things though that you're learning or others are learning.  You may or may not see all of that which is unfolding, but it doesn't mean it isn't there.

We are all much more powerful than we realize.  We can all do much more than we think we can.  Society and modern medicine often teaches us to rely upon others for our well-being, but true healing comes from within our body and our mind.  There is a place for everything in our world, but not at the expense of the power we hold within ourselves to affect our health.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog Post And Images (c) 10/3/14 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------