Is Illness a Blessing?

The Palm Reader

It was the spring of 2009, and I was at a local flea market with a friend I used to work with. We were stopped by a palm reader who wanted to give us a free reading. We looked at each other and said, “Why not?” The reading was….well…we were at a flea market! Some of the stuff was vague, but then she looked at my life line. 

“You have a long life line. You’ll have a child, but there will be troubles after your first born. Don’t worry, you will have a second child.” I remember that made my heart sink at the time. Troubles? What kind of troubles?

The Future is Always in Motion

Let’s fast-forward to the present. I now know the troubles she spoke of. I’m also in a state that she didn’t predict; I’m pregnant with my third baby. God-willing, we will meet her as the healthy, warm, and squishy baby I dream of holding on my chest in February. So much has happened in the nine years since that palm reading, and so much has changed. It wasn’t by chance, but by believing and taking action on what I knew could be possible. The future isn’t static; we don’t have to be prisoners to labels or diagnoses.

Here’s a part of a famous scene with Yoda and Luke in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.” If you allow it, illness will show you the fluidity of our bodies and our lives. Is a diagnosis really bad news? For me, I finally forced myself to see it as the beginning of a journey. I started to look at it as a time for reflection and redirection, but trust me that this didn’t happen right away. 

Illness: A Test of Patience and Faith

Initially, I was hasty. I wanted answers, and I wanted to get better quickly. I started out with a holistic health coach like myself, but it wasn’t fast enough. I lost faith because I wanted immediate results. Working at root causes doesn’t happen that way. You have to give things time and you have to believe. Here’s another scene from Star Wars that will give you some inspiration on that. It always makes me cry.

I ran to people who were deemed as experts in conventional medicine, but in my case, they ended up misguiding me. So, that’s when I went back to the original plan; that I’d have to go step by step treating the root causes for however long it took. If things were really going to get better, I had to get to the heart of the matter. I had to believe that with time and consistent action, I’d get better. With the help of a health coach, holistic nutritionist, and practicing self-care, the journey to healing really started.

Found in Illness: The Happy Beginning

I did get better. Slowly but surely, my body became stronger and my mind became clearer. That lead to having a rediscovery of myself and of life in general. But it’s not over; this is how life should be. It’s an adventure; a journey of the heart. So, if you’re going through something difficult, like an illness, don’t lose hope. You will find healing if you leave yourself open to working on things at the root cause. That’s what integrative medicine or integrative nutrition is all about. 

Change can and will happen if you can be open; your future is always in motion. 

 

If you need someone to help you on your journey to healing, reach out to me through the contact form below!