Friday, in the midst of a stressful family situation, I leaned over to look at a clothes rack in a store and—ouch—couldn’t straighten up due to severe back pain.
I fell off a ladder in 1993, herniating a disk and destroying the structure around my right knee, which set up a chronic pain situation lasting nearly two years. Unlike humpty-dumpty, I WAS able to be put back together by several talented surgeons. Since the surgeries I’ve been relatively pain free.
Until Friday. One minute I was feeling great, the next I was in agonizing pain that sent me to bed for several days.
Susan Weed, an expert in holistic healing and nutrition, in her book Healing Wise suggests that we can ask powerful questions to understand the message in any illness or injury:
· How is this problem my ally?
· How does this condition benefit me?
· What does this pain/problem prevent me from doing?
· What nourishment am I given by my pain/problem?
· What nourishment does my pain/problem need?
· How can I open to receive the gift in this situation?
As I reflected on those questions, I realized the injury had insulated me from becoming involved in some difficult family dynamics. It had also helped me take some much needed quiet and rest. It helped me reassess whether I needed to be taking on some household tasks that could be delegated to other service providers, freeing me to be more involved in my creative work. These insights are gifts, indeed!
For once in my life, I allowed myself to just rest and reflect on these questions. I ignored thoughts fueling any impatience with the healing process and really got quiet, slept and allowed myself to heal.
And, just three days later, I am feeling much better and have been able to be up and working much of the day. From past experience, I know that healing a back injury so quickly is unusual for me.
Oh...and as I lay in bed resting, several new ideas about creative challenges simply popped into my consciousness!
I feel good about approaching this injury as though it were my ally rather than my enemy. And grateful for the lessons it yielded!
Posted by Linda Sandel Pettit on 07/11 at 05:16 PM in |
(0) comments
