If our bodies could talk ...

There was a time when I never got sick ... never even got a cold. Then in the fall of 2005 I got hit with a horrible cold - one that knocked me out for a while. I continued to keep "running on the treadmill". I continued to keep trying to do so much. Meanwhile, my body has been trying to talk to me. It's hard to slow down. I know that. In the end though, I know that if we don't listen to our bodies, our bodies will slow us down ... whether we want to or not. I wrote the following in my journal back in November of 2005.

If our bodies could talk, they would say...

I will let you run me down
I will let you ignore me, for some time
I will let you suffocate me, clog me, even try to kill me off
all the while, i will compensate for your choices
i will counter your actions
working inside of you to find balance
to protect you
to build your strength
i will let you skate on the ice surface
for as long as i can
shielding you from the damage you inflict on me
hour after hour, day after day
i will send you warnings.

But you don’t listen
you insist on following a path you have set
you insist on ignoring the warnings along the way
you fixate on tasks, on “to dos”
i am sorry dear friend
if you keep going on and on,
faster and faster on this track
ignoring signs
if i don’t stop you
you will crash
and the kindest warning i know to give you
that will slow you down, is a cold.

Please listen, maybe next time, i won’t be able to be so kind.

Marilou Chanrasmi - November 8, 2005

Dear body, I am sorry for not slowing down sooner and for not listening sooner. I thank you for all you have done and for blessing me and taking care of me for all these years.