HOW DID YOU END UP LIKE THIS?
Osiyo or 'Siyo [Hello in Cherokee]
How many times have you been through a painful experience only to come out of it a better person on the other side? I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me but then again I'm anxious to learn from my pain and suffering so that I can minimize the time that I spend in it. This is the part of me that can be very lazy because I just don't happen to be a person who digs on struggle. That just takes too much energy for me and I prefer to put my energy into something productive and wildly cool. As I have matured spiritually and emotionally through the years I also know that this is when God is pulling me closer to Him. I'm okay going through what I need to in order to become a better me even if it doesn't feel Good at the time. Here is the problem with pain and suffering . . most of us don't want to do the 'Homework' that it takes to end our own suffering . . we would just as soon have God take His finger and wipe it all away without us having to change.
Last week was probably the sickest I have ever been in my Life. I've had symptoms of the flu in the past but never did I have the full-blown flu! I spent nearly six straight days flat on my back almost completely immobile from pain, nausea, dehydration and all of the other ugly signs and symptoms that come with the flu. I have always been a very healthy individual with an incredibly strong constitution so I could just keep going no matter what, but this time I was completely taken off my feet. My ability to bounce back from painful experiences has always been high but this time it was different.
I had a lot to think about as I laid there in bed moaning from the bone, muscle, tendon, head, neck, toenail, joint, teeth and hair pain. Every single thing on my body was pained, which left me no option but to the start at the beginning. How did I end up like this? This is the same question I always asked my patients. I wanted them to accept responsibility for what they did to themselves from the start. So I asked them, "How did you end up like this?" Most of the time the blame was shifted to someone else (usually a healthcare provider). Never were they quick to admit that they had a horrible Lifestyle that gave them high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, foul gas, bad breath, joint pain, poor dental health and extra weight to carry. I could go on and on. Personal responsibility was always the last on their list. So I did my job. Doctor means "teacher," so I pushed at them until we had breakthrough and THEN, I treated them.
"Seldom are we born with the disease, illness, syndrome, condition, ache or pain
that we are presently experiencing. Most of the time these diseases, illnesses,
syndromes, conditions, aches and pains are what we did to ourselves."
Dr. Loretta Standley~