Blissfully Sick

An oxymoron? Well maybe…but not for me today. Odd as it sounds, I found my bliss today in being sick. Not seriously sick mind you. Just “under the weather”.

You see, I got a little off track from my now sacred self care routine over the past five days. Ok - let's be honest, we're talking waaaay off track, as in completely jumped the rails off track. It was super-busy, albeit with fun stuff...non-stop parties, visitors, family from out-of-town, cook outs. Which also meant daily grocery shopping trips, cooking, cleaning, socializing, and endless driving here & there. You get the picture. As a result, there were no naps. I was going to bed late & getting up early. Every day I ate at least some food that my body can’t handle. I had virtually no quiet down time, and eventually a very distinct out-of-control feeling that made me stop in my tracks long enough to realize just how far I’d let myself fall.

So last night, after a shorter than planned stay at the last of the parties, I took a long nap (about 2 hours). I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, waking with what I thought was the most severe allergy attack I'd had in years. Oddly though, allergy pills weren’t providing ANY relief. Pollen counts must be through the roof! Or was it the barometric pressure shifting? As the day progressed, I managed but never really felt well. The nap was just the tiniest first step toward what I really needed.

I never left my recliner until bedtime and then I took a Benadryl to “shore up” the daily allergy meds. At least I’d sleep. And sleep I did…but, when I woke up this morning, there were all the symptoms – full force and worse than yesterday. Huh.

I checked pollen counts - they were at the lowest levels in months. It can't be my allergies, I thought. Ugh! A cold?! In June?! But, it's neither. It’s my body signaling an ALL STOP. So, first things first. Time to readjust the day's plans and schedules. It’s Monday and I’d been planning this as a “catch up” day after what has essentially been 5-days off. I had actually been looking forward to getting back to the routine, but now I was cancelling everything.

Here’s where the bliss comes in…with every little thing I cancelled – whether it was lunch plans, or something on my “to-do” list – I found that I started to breathe a little more easily. I began feeling lighter than I had in DAYS! And this is where it gets really good…the sniffling and sneezing were subsiding too! My symptoms didn’t go away completely…my body knows me better than that! Things just improved. It was another message from my Inner Guidance, “You’re on the right path.”

A long, hot shower yielded a familiar “ahhhhhh…” Food my body likes for breakfast, “yessss!” I was sitting in my recliner, laptop on my lap, with kitties snoozing peacefully around me when bliss really started kicking in…and the realizations couldn’t be more obvious...I needed this.

This is me getting back on course. There will be no self-recriminations, no blaming of circumstances and no justifications or rationalizations. It happens. The key here is recognizing it when it happens (preferably sooner versus later!) and getting back on track. Fortunately, I don’t imagine it will take me long. I’ve gotten pretty darn good at loving myself…and forgiving myself.

Self love in action means self care at the highest level you are capable of giving yourself at that moment. It also means forgiving yourself for the times when you don't meet your own high expectations.

I know how all that looks in my life. But I'm wondering...how does it look in yours? How do you manage when life gets the better of you? Whether it's stress, or a busy schedule, what throws you off track? And when it happens, how do you find your way back?

If you’re not feeling your bliss, it's likely you’re a little (or a lot!) off track right now. It’s ok. It happens to all of us – even me! I'd be happy to assist you with getting back on track - or in finding the path to bliss that's uniquely yours. Just get in touch with me and we'll figure out where to go from there. I'll put my hard-learned lessons to work for you. Once you taste just how sweet life can be, you’ll never go back – or at least not for long!

Wishing you a sensualtastic week full of bliss!
xoxo
Lisa