The Beauty of Illness & Pain

What happens when we get sick or when we have pain?  We tend to want to immediately feel better and reach or do the first thing that we can think of to accomplish that goal.  The illness and pain are considered foes and we commit to a war to “battle” and fight against the “evils” of ill-feeling and angst of pain.  Let us take another perspective, shall we?

There’s an old parable of Jesus as he was walking with his disciples and passed a dead, decaying dog. His disciples were appalled by the sight and commented on the ugliness of the scene.  But Jesus commented otherwise and said, “Look at those pearly, white teeth!”.  The fruit of this story is that even what may appear as “ugly”, there is always Beauty to be found.  When we experience sickness or pain, where’s the “pearly, white teeth”?  The obvious symptoms of fatigue, body aches, discomfort, coughing, sneezing, congestion, decreased physical activity, and any other symptom appears to grab all of our attention.  What can we learn from this experience?

The Beauty Perspective

Being sick or in pain does have its merits.  We are forced to slow down.  We are forced to think less and thus slow down the workings of the mind.  We are forced to eat less.  And most importantly, we are forced to pay more attention to everything we do, think, or say and especially pay more attention to the body and mind.  Now let us imagine if we applied all of these things we are “forced” to do when we are sick or injured when we are not sick or injured.  Imagine how much healthier you can be by slowing down your present lifestyle; by giving the troubled mind a break every once in awhile; by eating less than you already do; and by being more aware and mindful of the body and mind so that you can open the door for the Soul to express.  Let us be grateful that being sick or injured allows us to remember these healthful actions.

It is not until the warrior stops and Listens that he/she can lay down their sword and stop the fighting in their life.  We always have a choice to make Life a battle or an awesome, enlightening experience...