The Boon of Recovery

The Boon of Recovery

Everyone knows there is a great abyss between a cold and a heavy duty operation: the first is just plain annoying and the second can be edifying. I'm sure you've had head colds that cloud your brain and numb your taste, putting you into a general state of malaise. Maybe you've even groaned: "When is this going to end?!" The truth is you know it will last a week or two at most, but you crash onto the couch complaining: "This is the worst cold ever!"

An important operation, on the other hand, is, well...important. I'm not talking about something like removing a mole, mind you, but one that throws you into a different ball park, one that launches you into the air only to leave you lying on the ground for an indefinite amount of time. It's the temporary loss of self and the not knowing how long it will last that rockets the experience into the realm of "life change."

And change your life if does. It leaves you asking questions–some unuseful like: "How did this happen?" or the classic moper "Why me?" But there are also humblers that give room for reflection, like: "How can I use all this extra time?" or "What's really important to me?" or the humdinger "After I get better, who do I want to be?"

You learn that you can't do everything. You lean on others who will leave a curve in your memory and hopefully help in turn one day. You see many things you used to value fall into the background and others you have taken for granted come to the foreground. You marvel at how marvelous it is to take a full shower and to be able to wash and comb your hair. You cherish the ability to take a walk and hop up the stairs without it becoming a mission. You attach a true significance to the term "going out", feeling the sun touching your face or being touched by a twist of architecture.

Maybe recovering also means recovering the sense in what you do. It helps you to be patient because you can't recover faster than your body or mind (or both) will let you. The only thing to do is to relax and let it come, even if you do have moments of anger and frustration, otherwise the healing is hindered. Anything but love, art, and peace needs to fall to the side because there's no way to hold onto the rest, even if you try to.

Photo: Colynary Media 

Text: Kristen Mastromarchi