We’ve all been sick many times over the course of our lives. We hibernate for a few days, take some natural or prescription medication, moan and groan as fits our temperament…and then we recover and move on.
But what of those whose illnesses are persistent and of a greater magnitude? Perhaps an injury or autoimmune disorder brings ongoing pain and a significant loss of function. Maybe the struggle is with addiction, either to substances or behaviors that erode a sense of worth and make a mess of one’s life. Or perhaps it is depression, anxiety or complex PTSD that makes each day a challenge. These are conditions for which there are no simple cures, no straight line to health. For those whose lives are afflicted by serious disease of any kind, something more is asked.
Illness as spiritual practice seldom gets its due. When bodies hurt no matter our position, when hearts race as a panic attack comes on, or when inner voices tell us that stress requires a drink, we have approached the realm of the Divine. In living daily with the indisputable truth that our small wills cannot bring release, we are given a chance to learn surrender.
Spiritual surrender is not a passive or masochistic thing. It is not a giving up. It is a waking up to something far greater than the wishes and goals of our personalities. Through acceptance of what is, rather than what we would like it to be, we learn to yield. Done consciously and with intention, this is a stance that leads to a greater awareness, one that allows us to open to guidance in order to discern in each moment the next right action.
Some of us have the luxury of attending to our spirituality only on Sundays, during prescribed meditation periods, or when we walk amid the natural world. Not so for those who approach chronic illness as spiritual practice.
This is not intended to romanticize suffering. It is not something we would wish upon ourselves or someone else. Yet individuals who walk the path of serious illness often speak of the gifts received from what they would never have chosen.
We all live better when we cultivate a vibrant spirituality, one that makes each moment precious. But those grappling with chronic illness are called to surrender in moments that don’t feel precious at all. And often they reap the benefits of a profound and enduring spiritual healing, one that allows them to cherish life more deeply than the rest of us, no matter the course their illness takes.
May the healthy among us hold in our hearts our sisters and brothers who struggle so. And, dear reader, if you are ailing, may you open to that love. And may it assist you as you embrace your illness as a pathway to transformation.
💖
Leia
