When Being Sick Clears Your Head

My plans to clean and organize the areas of our house that typically collect clutter have been thwarted by a cold. Both my son and I have been congested and coughing for the past 4 days. I’m starting to feel much better today and my son seems much better as well.

It’s always struck me how unencumbered I feel when I’m sick. My priorities narrow to simply managing my symptoms and taking care of my son. Everything else can, and does, wait.

For one, very little is expected of you when you’re sick. At least this is my perception and experience. I can imagine others still feel the pressure to perform despite being sick.

Second, when I’m not feeling well my focus is more on myself and I care a lot less about what others think of me. I think this is both good and bad. I find it freeing to let go of trying to impress people. On the other hand, I too easily move into selfishness when I’m preoccupied with my own pain.

Since I’m focusing on removing clutter this month I going to try to take a lesson from being sick this week. In addition to keeping the physical clutter at bay, it’s important to keep the mental clutter of trying to impress others at bay. My prayer is that my life will be more open to Jesus and more free to trust and follow him, unencumbered by the weight of the world.