This week's word: Ailments :(

This week’s word of the week: Ailments:

In our fast paced world, listening can be hard to do, especially when the outside world is so very loud! I crave silence and solace. I often have to fight for it by eeking time out of my day to take a walk on the road or to sit on the hillside and watch the sun go down (I appreciate a gorgeous sunrise, but I prefer to sleep until the sun wakes me…still working on that goal!)

I know my inner voice is strong, when I let it be. It speaks to me softly so I will purposely listen. If it was as loud as everything else in my life, it probably knows I’d ignore it. My children know all too well, the louder they are and the more they fight, the more liable I am to walk away. If you want my attention, I’ll need respect, attention and softness.

So how am I with listening to myself? I do pretty well for the most part. I believe in intuition and I know how to tune in. Listening then is quite different than following through. Following through means I actually act on what I hear; and this week I didn’t do that well.

I started feeling “lung issues” on Wednesday. I could feel that tickle deep within my body and knew that “sleep” was needed. I’m famous (sadly) for pushing through my reserves and driving hard. Responsibilities galore pile up and I tend to ignore my body's basic needs in lieu of a clock and the false belief that there isn’t enough time……

So this “crud” had been creeping up on me for a while and I ignored it along with my body’s request for sleep and nourishment. Long story short, we left the basketball tournament last night at 8:30. I was in pretty rough shape with fever, chills, hacking cough, headache, body ache and feeling as worn out as could be. I’d done several rounds of reiki, quantum touch and even ho’oponopono. I could feel a shift and I knew I’d live, I just needed deep rest. After a warm bath (we don’t have a big enough water heater and two very sweaty boys needed the water pretty badly!) I collapsed into bed.

I slept on and off until 1 pm today. I haven’t done that in…well, longer than I can recall. I did not do anything today. I sat. I watched the wind blow against the grass. I looked at my messy house and I sat some more. My mind told me to get out of the chair and get to work, my body said, sit. And I listened. This totally goes against my will. I am usually doing something but not today.

This evening I find that my cough has subsided. I’m still on the tired side but I won’t require anything more than sleep. I’ve nourished myself with several rounds of blue violet and chickweed tea, hot bath with espsom salts and baking soda, essential oils, Vic’s vapor rub and soup. It’s not fun to be under the weather but something tells me had I listened before, I quite possibly could’ve alleviated this ailment. And then again, maybe this aliment was what I needed to remind me of the importance of listening, resting and taking care of my body. Either way, I got the message loud and clear! I'm off to enjoy one more round of herbal tea and then another deep, rest. Tomorrow I should be back on track.

What lessons have your “ailments” taught you?