the opportunity to have the flu
In a recent telecoaching class, a participant named Vickie stopped me with a simple statement: “I didn’t get my homework done because I had the opportunity to have the flu this week.”
All of us paused. There was quiet on the line.
The flu gave Vickie the opportunity to slow down, she explained. And see more. And be in her body more.
In such a way, everything is an opportunity. A chance to feel great heartache and know deep inside with gratitude that heartache only comes from loving, and loving is a privilege. An opportunity to acknowledge that we are spirits temporarily housed in a body that feels pain. A journey into mindfulness when our bodies give out.
John got very sick this week. Perhaps the sickest I have seen him. There was blood involved in ways it shouldn’t be involved. It gave him the opportunity to rest and seek medical care (when he volunteers to go to the hospital, you know it is bad) and talk with the purser at the hospital and find out she worked at George Washington Hospital for 30 years and introduce her to a nurse who mentioned he wanted to move to DC and work at GW Hospital, but didn’t know anyone there.
It gave me an opportunity to take care of him (and Tess, who also joined the ranks of the Pukeys, but (thankfully) at a much lesser level even though it mean missing Pajama Day.) It also gave me the opportunity to slow down, be more realistic about what I could get done, re-prioritize on the human survival units who keep me alive.
While I hope you don’t get the flu, I hope you have similar opportunities. Well, we have them every day, don’t we? I hope you (and I) recognize them, listen to them, are grateful for them.
With thanks to neighbors and friends who have kept us hydrated. We’ve graduated to toast today. Mr Brilliant put shoes on, albeit briefly. And while I feel I might be falling prey to the flu as well now, I’ll do my very best to see it as an opportunity, as Vickie taught me.
