Just be sick

As we discuss in this month’s podcast episode, rest is such an invaluable and often overlooked component of our daily routines. Ironically, this week I got a first-hand opportunity to rethink rest.

Until this week, I had somehow managed to avoid getting sick throughout the fall and early winter, despite others around me falling ill at multiple time points. Then it finally was my turn. :(

Thankfully nothing serious, but impactful enough. And in the process it’s been interesting to reflect on what my body is communicating to me, and how well I am able to listen!

I have been making an effort (interesting that it even needs to feel like an effort) to give myself permission to rest, to take things slowly, and to - gasp! - make changes to my schedule to better support my body’s need for rest. It felt challenging to reach out to clients and ask them to reschedule. And yet I knew that was exactly what I needed to do. And, the world didn’t come crashing down as a result. The world also didn’t come crashing down when I asked my husband to take over some tasks that I normally do, so that I could get more rest. These have been great outcomes to notice!

I also came across a meditation on Insight Timer called ‘Meditation for COVID, cold, flu, or allergies’. I really appreciated the recognition within this meditation that focusing on the breath can be extra challenging when your nose is stuffed up! And, that we can still do it. I also particularly appreciated the simple and profound message from a Zen teacher shared at the end of the exercise, in response to a query about how to approach being sick:

“Just be sick.”

In other words, instead of resisting our current state, allowing ourselves to rest in it. Even being curious about what being sick might have to teach us.

So far, for me, being sick has offered the opportunity to remind myself that it’s ok to ask for help, it’s ok to make changes to plans, and that I greatly appreciate having flexibility in my schedule to be able to more easily change plans. Most importantly being sick has reminded me that it is ok to rest. And I think my body is thanking me for that!

We hope that when your turn comes to be sick you too can find the space and courage to just be sick.