As you read this, I may be in recovery post-surgery, or I may be resting at home. It may seem like having to go into surgery is the antithesis of what I have been harping on – Joy and Healing. Guess what? It’s not. I can tell you – in actuality – what is not healing:
A Cure
Healing is not an expectation of a cure from chronic illness or really anything else. Grief takes time, loss can be forever on this earth, and though I’m not fully convinced that every incurable illness is actually incurable… I do believe that a cure is not the focus. What we should be focusing on is the journey that takes us to a place of growth, vision, and a life of substance. How? It depends on your goal, but it ALL starts with a belief that healing is yours for the taking and that no matter where you are or what you are doing (even if it’s in a recovery room after surgery) you are continuing/making progress towards the goal and vision you have set for your own personal healing.
Anyone Else’s Expectations of You
When others tell you what to do to heal – with or without the knowledge of the human mind, body, and spirit, it can hinder you from your own growth. Yes, listen to what others have to say (especially if they are people you trust) and maybe even take it into consideration ;-). AND use your own judgment and research/thought to come to your own conclusions on what would be best for your healing. More on this below in the next point.
A Scramble to Stay Alive
I read a book once by Julie Yip-Williams called The Unwinding of the Miracle. Yip-Williams has since passed, but her blog on life and dying with cancer was turning into this memoir. In it, she mentions the value of nutrition as described by her doctors and their colleagues. She acknowledges it… and decides that her final days would be full of all the yummy, potentially harmful food she loves. Could nutrition have saved her completely? Maybe. AND her healing came from living as much as she could with the people she loved and trusted before her death at age 42. Healing isn’t about anyone else or about the outcome. It’s about you and what makes you feel alive… even if that’s not the outcome of your journey.
Healing is so much more than I feel I could explain in one post (maybe that’s why it’s the topic of the whole blog! Along with joy…).
Gaining wisdom, insight, expectation, and gratitude is a major part of the ways in which we continue to heal along the way. And it is all up to you.
Keep shining… and wish me luck/blessings as you can!
Tell me in the comments what healing is NOT in your own words. Would love to hear!