Honoring Our Obstacles

Hello there, loves!

The phrase “I'm fighting off a cold” kept coming into my mental dialogue this week as I caught a cold after my recent travels last weekend.  I realized that this phrase is a conditioned pattern that so often shows up when we get sick.  You may be thinking, “What's the big deal, Sheetal? It is so common to use that phrase when we have a cold!”  But, what was coming to me almost as an immediate response was, “No, I choose not to fight this cold. I choose to honor my body this week.  This cold is coming up for me as a signal to honor my body, to slow down, to rest, and to cleanse.” 

I decided not to “fight” the cold, rather to work with it as an opportunity to tune in more to my body.  So often when things come up in our life, whether it's a cold or anything else that seems like a challenge or obstacle, we have two ways to look at it:

1. We can look at it as a fight.  When we do this, it automatically brings a feeling of separation, that this challenge is something separate from me.  This challenge is something that is happening to me and that I need to fight against.  It then becomes a battle. 

2. This challenge is happening for me, and I choose to honor what it is showing me.  What can I learn from this experience?  What is this experience trying to show me? Where is this experience guiding me? Is it guiding me towards greater awareness and self-care?  Is it teaching me to tune into my body even more in this moment? When we choose to honor our experiences, instead of fight them, we are able to find peace and spiritual lessons within the experience. 

This simple shift in perspective starts with awareness. Then, the next step is shifting the words that we use.  There is a wonderful quote that goes:
Watch your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, 
Watch your words, words become actions, 
Watch your actions, actions become habits, 
Watch your habits, habits become character. 

It all starts with our thoughts and the language that we use.  So this week, I have been working with the phrase, “I am fighting off a cold.”  I have been shifting the language of my own mental dialogue such that anytime I noticed this phrase, I would immediately replace it with the phrase, “I am honoring my body.  I am listening to my body's signals this week.”  That being said, I am now going to return to sipping on some warm tea and allowing my body to heal.

Sending you so much love today and always!