Why I'm Looking at Healing as a Journey, Not a Destination

I decided to look at healing from Lyme disease as a journey rather than a destination. There became a point when I realized that obsessing about when I will get better wasn’t helpful.

After being sick for so long and trying many different treatments, it’s easy to get caught up in the one supplement or treatment that might be the “ultimate cure.” I am guilty of this. We might see that one treatment greatly improved someone’s health and feel as if that is the missing puzzle piece. And maybe it is. But oftentimes, we need to accept that healing is a process that takes time. It involves not only physical healing, but mental, emotional and spiritual healing too.

 

It’s tempting to feel frustrated and impatient, wondering when and if we will feel “normal” again. But in the meantime we can think, “What am I learning about myself?” “How am I becoming a better person?” “What is this illness teaching me?” It’s hard to see progress in your health from day to day, but then you look back to a few months ago, or even a few years ago, and realize how much you’ve changed. When I look back to six months ago, I realize I am now a different person.  I have persevered through so much which has made me stronger, wiser and better equipped to handle this disease. I have become more patient, more peaceful, more compassionate and more confident.

People ask me when I will be “better” or “cured.” But chronic illnesses don’t work that way. You could feel “better” one day and feel like death the next day for no apparent reason. I found that taking each day at a time is essential to healing. We can find gratitude in each day, stay strong when we feel our worst and try to laugh every day. We can show up every day as our best self, even if that means lying in bed all day in pain and feeling anxious, angry and irritable. We can focus on self-love, self-care and doing what makes us happy.

And while I am eagerly looking forward to the day when I can do more “normal” things, I choose to learn from the journey and know the person who comes out of it will be a better version of me.

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Thinkstock photo via SrdjanPav.