“Sometimes, you have to rest.” 

“Wait, a minute!  I’ve had this lesson before and it was recently too!”

“Well, rest some more and learn it some more.”

“Do I have to really learn it some more?”

“Not if you are okay with resting.”

“Okay, I will embrace resting.”

Have you ever had that kind of inner dialogue?  I did this past week.  I contracted influenza after flying home from a trip to San Diego, California.  Usually when I’m not well, I’m still able to function and live my life as usual at a slower pace.  Well, this strain should have been called the Pancake Flu ’cause it flattened me!

Seriously, I found myself sitting one minute and then, waking up hours later not knowing how it happened.  I started to wonder if it was really a good idea to play “Ring of Fire” so much on my guitar as of late because I had raging, burning fevers of 101-102F at times that pain relievers would not touch.  My sinuses drained.  I would get up and try to unpack from my trip only to be dizzy and have to take a break.  So, I finally complied and slept…and, slept some more.  I didn’t think it was humanly possible to sleep so much!

A few mornings I woke up feeling the worse I’d ever felt in a very long time.  My joints and muscles ached.  It was hard to get out of bed.  So, I stayed in bed and slept and rested.  I thought one day I’d watch television or read a book, but nope, I was too sick to even do that.  So, I slept some more. 

I’m functional right now obviously, but my abdominal muscles feel like I just did Pilates or something.  I realized it is from the coughing I did when I was really sick. 

Part of me really wanted to go full steam ahead into my goals and my work when I arrived home from San Diego.  You see,  I took a life-changing class with teacher James Arthur Ray called The Harmonic Wealth (R) Weekend.  It truly shifted my energies.  So, perhaps, my sickness was a detox or something that helped me to rest and incorporate the new energies before rushing into my new life.

I had some time to sit alone and think about life (when I wasn’t sleeping!).  One thing that kept coming through is that I felt guilty for being sick.  I somehow felt defective or imperfect.  Imagine that, I remembered that I am human!  I know I created this illness for some reason and so I decided not to beat myself up any more for it.  I decided to learn the true lesson of rest–just allowing myself to replenish without feeling guilty for it. 

I see that the suitcase did get unpacked.  My dust will be there tomorrow.  I will find time to get groceries and get caught up on errands.  My life is just fine and everything is in order despite it not feeling that way.

I am excited that today I could stay awake.  I enjoyed receiving a massage today as well.  I was grateful that I could drive my car without a lot of pain.  The body aches and pains are lessening and the fever is still burning off.  I’m feeling more like my true self, an energetic, positive person!

When I tapped into this illness, I saw and felt that I had not heeded the call to rest for some time.  I had been ignoring my body’s cries for rest.  That seems to be part of the lesson too about resting.  It’s okay to take some time for a nap now and then.  Also, I have been receiving guidance to meditate and do yoga daily.  I used to see these two activities as optional, but right now, they feel like a necessity, which is a good thing in my book.  I look forward to having this regular spiritual practice.  I can’t wait to share more of that journey with you.

I’m taking the time to rest from this day forward.  I’m worth it–and so are you!

Rested and peaceful,

Lisa