What do you do when you're sick?
For most of the day yesterday, I just sat. Because of a low-grade fever, achiness, and congestion I didn't have the energy to do the things that I would normally do...exercise/walk, housework, laundry, cooking, writing... Instead, I just laid on my couch.
A while ago, I gave up watching TV on a regular basis. I still watch some programs and movies with my family, but I do not watch TV every day and there are many days I go without TV altogether. In the past if I were sick, I would just sit and channel surf through the day. This is the first time that I've been sick without channel surfing.
I was able to finish a book I was reading. It was a light mystery by Mary Higgins Clark. Easy reading, but a good page-turner. But I even had moments through the day when I just didn't want to read. As a result, I found myself just be-ing. I closed my eyes (but couldn't sleep because I had already slept 12+ hours) and just listened to the sounds around me: My cats purring on my lap, my dogs steady breathing as they napped, the occasional passing car, birds outside flitting in the trees, the tick of my clock, the fire in the fireplace... As I listened to the sounds around me, I found myself going deeper within myself.
As I have practiced centering prayer for a while, I knew before I closed my eyes what could happen if I just sat and listened. Sometimes in my prayer I will imagine God speaking with me, a conversation between my Creator, my Life Source, and me. But this time, I didn't "hear" any conversations. I just was. I knew God was with me, within me, holding me, but God didn't say anything. We just sat together.
Because I didn't have the energy to do anything else, I was able to just be with God for a few hours. Yes, sometimes illness can be a blessing.
