Monday, August 2, 2010

How Can I "ACCEPT" A Cold?

I have a cold! There's no getting away from it. My first clue was a sore throat, then the sneezing, then the drippy nose. My sinuses are full, my head aches, my nose is red and sore, and my ribs hurt from all the constant sneezing. Since I don't seem to do well with cold "medications" (they make me hyper) I really don't have any alternative than to suffer through it. Or do I?

In the book A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle says"... whenever you are engaged in doing anything at all... if you are not in the state of either acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm... you will find that you are creating suffering for yourself..." He calls these the modalities of awakened doing so he's really speaking about actions, but I'm sure it applies equally to anything in our life situation.

So there it is. I'm creating suffering for myself! As if the cold wasn't enough! But what are my choices? Enjoyment and enthusiasm are definitely out of the question. I'm sorry, but they just don't work for me. But acceptance - can I accept my current situation?

I know that this too shall pass. In a couple of days, this will be behind me and I won't even be able to remember how I felt. Oh, the words will be there, but have you noticed how difficult it is to recall exactly how you felt? It's impossible. You may sympathize with how I'm feeling, but you cannot empathize... and it's not your fault. It's a bit like labour pains, we remember that it hurt like hell, but we can't recreate the feelings. And who would want to?

2 comments:

Ella said...

I just had to giggle about this. Great post! Eckhart's words sometimes don't really mesh with real life suffering and inconvenience, but then, he doesn't really have anyone to worry about other than himself; that makes it a little easier than, say, a mom with two kids vomiting everywhere while she herself feels sick! That being said, I think you'd really enjoy a newer book by a visionary author named Ty Clement. The book is "Being Ourself" and I tell you...it has changed my outlook on everything. I've read his new blog and think that this guy, who is a happily married father of five living sons, really gets what it's like to live in the real world, with real people, dealing with real life patterns and problems...he just...gets it! Check it out...He won't dismiss your cold. ;o)

Anyaa said...

Great to receive your comment Ella. Thank you, too, for the link to Ty's blog. I had a quick look yesterday, but wasn't really in the right mood to check it out properly. But I will today!