Lessons from an Illness

by Gregory Allen Butler

Do you ever learn lessons from an illness? I do and I find they're pretty good ones, too.

After four years without a cold, or a sore throat, or a bronchial infection, all three hit me yesterday. I woke up at 5:30 am yesterday feeling extremely congested. It was just a week ago that I was wondering if I was ever going to catch a cold again. Friends and family have been under the weather for about three weeks; I guess my immune system wasn't quite up to the challenge.

I went back to bed a couple hours later after I ate some apple sauce and a big dose of vitamin C and gotu kola. At 11:30 I got out of bed, feeling better.

I had a commitment to play tenor sax at a function at the local library at 3 pm. I had considered cancelling due to my health but I decided to go ahead since I was feeling stronger.

I played about as badly as I ever had in my professional life. I guess it's hard to be inspired when you feel so sick. I started perspiring after playing just one song. I knew I had over-extended myself. But nonetheless, people came up to me and said they enjoyed my playing. But I didn't feel good about it and I think that these negative thoughts drained my energy. By the time I went to bed last night, I was feeling even worse than when I woke first woke up 18 hours earlier.

Today I have concluded that it's no fun having a cold. Everything in life becomes an energy challenge. Sometimes I feel hot, sometimes I have a chill. It makes it much harder for me to have the enthusiasm to write. My brain seems like it's in a fog. I think my enthusiasm subsides because I feel so limited physically. I try to keep my thoughts on ideas that will increase my energy, but it's more of a challenge with all the interruptions of coughing.

However, in my life I have come to know that physical suffering can be a blessing. It focuses attention off my mind and into my body and its awareness. I know I become a lot more aware of what strengthens me and weakens me. It makes me grateful for the health I do have. It forces me to be health conscious.

Life gets down to the bare necessities. No extravagant food. No rich cream sauces. No sweet deserts. Everything becomes a process of self-improvement, with the emphasis on health. What I need becomes differentiated from what I want. Abundance thinking becomes centered on getting well.

Simple pleasures become much more valued, like a long hot bath, or a bowl of hot soup. I realize what's important and what isn't. This is what it means to learn lessons from an illness.

An illness can break up unhealthy ways of living. That is what happened to me 30 years ago when I was working in smoke-filled bars every night, eating fried food in restaurants three times a day, and staying up until 4 am. By the time I recovered from the illness that ensued, I was no longer addicted to the lifestyle. Life took on a more important purpose. And once I was free of the toxic lifestyle, new sources of energy and inspiration arose.

Every illness isn't going to perform a revolution on my lifestyle or way of thinking, but I've learned to be open to the lessons that it might teach me. When I'm sick, my body is telling me to slow down and pay attention. That's what I'm doing right now. And I recommend you do the same the next time you're sick.

The next time you call in sick and take a few days off work, take an inventory of your life. Maybe you might want to do some journaling. Ask yourself some questions. Do you exercise enough? Are you getting enough nutrition? Do you have enough friends to laugh with? Are you fulfilled in your career? Are you happy? Do you look forward to the rest of your life?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, it is most likely due to unconsciousness. You just never thought about it or gave it enough attention. With awareness of the situation, you can reverse it. You can start imagining what life is going to be when you make the needed changes. And that bit of good news should give you a boost of energy, pushing you forward to wellness. Maybe coming to that awareness was the only reason your body got sick in the first place.

You're most likely living well when you can look back on an illness and be grateful. But in the meanwhile, do your best to stay healthy.