Being merciful to yourself

During a health crisis with pneumonia years ago I struggled with a long recovery period. I had been ill often as a child. My memories are of an almost endless round of sickness and recovery to sickness again. Looking back as an adult I realize that there was healthy time between those, but the feeling of being ill was one I was very familiar with.

Into my adulthood I started to work with my body more actively, using herbs and nutrition to help support my body and actually stopped being sick for several years.

During this bought with pneumonia I got I came to realize three things the illness meant as I recovered my initial strength within weeks, but feeling actually well took many months. Here are a few thoughts for those who may be struggling with their own frustrations with a slower recovery than they'd like.

1. Purely on the physical side, your body just needs time to recover. You need to nourish your body with things that support it's work in healing from the inside out. 2. It's possible that you are being "told" to slow down and refocus on priorities. You may be pulling yourself in too many directions and you are being reminded to streamline and let go of actions, ideas, people, events, things and habits that are no longer serving you. Who or what in your life is stealing your breath? Do you have toxic people or situations in your life that are draining your vitality? It may be time to lovingly move on from those situations or people so you can heal. 3. This may be an opportunity to examine your feelings of pride in asking for the support you need. It's easy for us to fall into the "supermom/superdad/superperson" mode and feel like we can and should be doing it all with little to no help from anyone else. Are there any areas of your life that you need some support and is there anyone in your community that might be able to lend a hand? Have you asked? If not, why? The definition of charity isn't merely to give to those in need, it's original definition was the love that God/Spirit has for us. That love is a two way love, love in giving and love in receiving.

4. Many of these are small changes in mindset you can make. Reading books that help to elevate your inner state of thought can be a huge help. Listening to some motivational speakers or reading some inspirational quotes will help you move out of the energy of frustration.  5. List some things that cause you stress and think, objectively, do I really need this in my life? What would happen if I let it go? See what happens if you let a few small stressors go. Reiki can benefit as well by helping you become balanced in your energy, helping to find a lift in vitality and giving yourself a moment of pure love. Treat yourself to free Reiki every Wednesday. EFT can benefit by addressing toxic situations you may feel at a loss to work through. Gently using this meridian tapping can release energy blocks and stuck habits, freeing you to move forward and able to accept the state of health and wellness that is your birthright.