Sunday, January 15, 2012

Thought for the Day - Health and Responsibility

I might have jotted this down somewhere earlier but this time, its with a new awareness. In all areas of our life there are a few that we deal with responsibility and some that we do not. Typically the ones we deal with responsibility work for us because we go back and sort them out ourselves - they are 'our' problems, not 'theirs'. The ones where we takes less responsibility are those that don't work, have someone else to blame, and cause much tension. The moment we catch ourselves say 'Oh God, why me?' or 'It's all because of her/him/that /this' we are headed for trouble. That helpless feeling where nothing is in our control. Fear sets in and we panic.

Nothing exemplifies this more than the area of health for me. I had started running to the doctor and frightening myself with all sorts of dangerous probabilities until I realised how easily the symptom - a niggle here, a quiver there, a twitch here - disappeared soon after paying the doctor's consultation fee. So the last time I had a niggle, a cough, a bad throat, I held myself back (it's cheaper). I started doing the things that the body needed, rest, warmth, comfort and a healing environment - and miracle of miracles, the bad throat, the dangerous twitches disappeared pretty soon. No massive doses of antibiotics, no scary possibilities, tests and so on. This small experiment gave me much confidence and the nest time I had a small twicth i held myself back. Once again, it disappeared a day after. A small home remedy, some rest and a feeling of I'll deal with it.

I re-realised that the body has a powerful healing system. All it needs is a little faith from us, a little support. (I am talking here of issues that are being played in the mind, of course, not serious ailments or conditions for which one needs to rush to the doctor.) But with minor issues, I'd say, step back, take responsibility for the body. It is something you have created in your body and you can rectify it. Visualising the healing of that part of the body helps, being kind and gentle towards it helps, and most importantly not going into panic mode helps. You can handle it (a wonderful lesson from Susan Jeffers in her book 'Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway' where she mentions that the biggest fear is that we cannot handle things). Most times it's this I-can't-handle-whatever-this-is panic that starts the chain of fearing everything. Step back and it will almost always be healed. Handle your body with care, love and a sense of responsibility.

I think it should be the same approach with anything or anyone we know. If the body shows a sign of discomfort we must slow down instantly and listen to it, tell it that you will support it and handle it. Then the body goes into its own healing mode knowing that you support it. But if we instantly say I can't handle you like this and I will rush you to a doctor in panic, it will feel lost and unsupported. Imagine if our child comes with a small discomfort and we go into panic, or if a team member comes with a personal problem or if a friend or family member shows signs of distress and we refer them to someone else and panic   We cannot treat people that way to get them to give their best for us, nor can we treat our body that way.We need to be patient, supportive and caring. Most of all, we need to take responsibility for it. For all that goes on in our life. It will normally handle it by itself, it we show some faith in it.