Stopping is Healthy
Just as I was ramping up momentum and was ready to rock the world, I fell ill. Isn’t that how it seems to work? It’s almost as if the enemy said, “You’re going to do God’s work & that’s not okay with me.” But alas, that’s not how it happened at all. In reality, God’s work gets completed in His perfect timing — try as we may to be disobedient or to procrastinate. His love for us is another article to be written at another time.
In all reality, my body needed to recover. My soul needed to recover. (To read the blog about the challenges of being a single parent whilst being ill, click on Single Parenting Sucked!) You see, trauma, in any form, changes you. Trauma alters your biology. Even more fascinating, to me, is that biological change can be passed down from one generation to the next. In reality, we’re not carrying just our own trauma, we’re carrying the trauma of our ancestors. And, sadly, we’re passing our muck down to our decedents.
The illness I had was a bacterial infection in the mouth. If you are familiar with Louise Hay, you will understand I’ve been keeping things quiet for quite some time and am called to finally speak my truth. For the first time in my life, I mostly stayed away from work for an entire week. Then, the following week, I took off as well as my mouth recovered but my brain and soul didn’t. It was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done. Two weeks off was something I haven’t ever done in my life. I had to work through the mindset of what happened before I allowed myself to move forward.
You see, when you’re constantly on the go, and not allowing ample time to heal, your body, eventually, will force you to stop and heal: some end up with a heart attack, some with a horrible viral/bacterial infection, and others with a staph infection. Whatever the sickness, the body forces us to slow down, often to stop, and to allow time for healing. Have you noticed that in your own life?
I’m going to be completely honest with you, since I’ve had children (my eldest is 22 years young), I’ve only take one week off for vacation or sickness. I’ve made the decision to constantly go-go-go. Three weeks ago, my body and soul said, “No more.” The reality of what was going on was a difficult one for me to grasp. I didn’t understand why I was so “weak”. This is how I perceived myself for not being able to suck it up and keep moving forward.
Then, I took a step back and looked at my situation with eyes wide open. I realized it’s been well over 25 years since I took time off from life. I realized my soul was requiring serious healing from parts of my childhood as well as the trauma from my adulthood. I realized, in order to heal on the deepest level, I needed to stop. So, instead of fighting it, I stopped. I allowed my soul the time she needed to heal. Am I completely healed from all the muck? Nope. Certainly not. But I am well on the way. And this, my friends, brings joy to my continually healing soul.
It’s critical to stop once in a while. We all know the saying, “Stop and smell the roses.” There’s an abundance of truth to that. Stopping is not quitting. Stopping is allowing yourself the time your soul requires to heal. Stopping ensure you’re able to move forward with more peace, more light, and more success.
When was the last time you truly stopped? When have you allowed yourself to just be still? When have you stopped to embrace your soul and to be kind to yourself as you continue to heal?
I encourage you to stop for at least five minutes each day. You’ll be more successful in all you do and your soul will thank you for it.
Most humbly,
Orsika
