Health and the Power of Right Now

Have you ever considered making a change you knew would probably positively and significantly improve your health, and then chose not to do it?

I know I have. Those are moments that became regrets. Those are the illnesses I suffered longer than necessary because I was ignoring the discomfort, hoping it would go away because I was too busy to deal with it. Even though I know better, I actually did that with a headache today.

My head hurt and I took something for it that usually helps immediately. Nothing happened. So instead of lying down and resting, or meditating with it to get a clearer sense about the cause (such as whether it is stress, hormones or sinuses), I kept plowing ahead with work I wanted to accomplish. Finally the headache got the best of me and I laid down to sleep for a while.

When I got up, I kept my activities light and was feeling much better. Recognizing it was probably a combination of hormones and reaction to the pollen in the air, I did some yoga stretches, and immediately felt relief.

Here is was caught up in habits and bit of self-importance (ie. I have so much that needs to be done, I can’t take time out for a headache right now). And I show people to listen to their body/soul wisdom, honor it and act on it. I teach this stuff! Yet, here I was ignoring my own health.

Are you as stubborn as I am? Do you find yourself doing what is normal and familiar, rather than doing what you know you need to do in order to get better?

So today, I asked myself, “Is my writing really so important that taking an hour or even a day off would create a cataclysmic hole in the matrix of the universe so big that humanity would never recover?” Yes, I’m poking fun at myself because I know it will make me laugh and shake the absurdity out of me! Yes, my work is important, but it is not more important than my health, and neither is yours.

Let me ask you, “Are any of your patterns, habits, work, or service more important than your health?” “How about your family? Are their needs more important than your health?” “Is your job and your sense of being needed more important than your health.”

Now ask yourself this, “Are really able to be of your best service to your family or job when you feel awful?”

Tough questions, I know. But how else do we break-through our tendency to do what is familiar? You know the answer. Either we ask ourselves some tough questions and make some changes or we get so sick that we have to make changes.

If you are like me, maybe there are times when you wait until you are feeling desperate before you make change. It occurred to me some time ago that desperate action meant I had missed earlier opportunities to make easier, more loving choices for myself. I decided it was a far more enjoyable journey to act from inspiration rather than desperation.

Sometimes I still wait until I’m a little desperate before I act, like I did in waiting to address my headache. But wouldn’t it have been wiser to act from a little inspiration early on? Wouldn’t it have made sense to listen to my body/soul immediately, and have gotten into a quiet and soothing healing meditation, acting on the insights I received immediately? I could have nipped that headache immediately. I could have enjoyed more of my day.

I hope you will allow my confession to be inspiration for you. Don’t wait until later on to honor your body. Ask a friend or family member to take care of the family for a while. Take time off work or ease up on your goals so that you can focus more energy on your healing. Take advantage of the summer weather. Spend some days away from the chaos and demands of home.

Give yourself time to slow down, reflect and listen to your body. Then have the courage to take the action that you need to take immediately. You deserve to feel better right now.