Being down with an illness is a wonderful experience.
It slows you/a person down.
Everything you do is slow-mo(tion).
Eat, drink, walk, sit etc is slowed down.
Forced to slow down cos' the body can't move fast.
I noticed this in the beginning of the 3rd week after chicken pox.
I was doing things faster. There was a lot of difference.
That's when it started me thinking, wondering, "How come?"
When we are well, we do things very fast, heedlessly, mindlessly, mechanically even.
But when we're sick and down, everything slows down.
You eat slowly, chewing your food slowly.
You drink slowly, sipping your water slowly.
I tried chewing the lettuce slowly and I could taste the sweetness and crispness of it.
I was finally learning to taste my food!
I become more aware.
It was a strange feeling.
My sister mentioned that chicken pox is scary, get it once is enough.
I believe many people feel the same.
However, I hold a different view.
I think it was a wonderful experience that taught me so much.
I think we should not get it as a kid but as an adult - then we will really feel.
It really wasn't that bad. I was having so much fun! Very enjoyable.
It was the best holiday of my life.
And it's an experience I know I definitely would not mind having again and again for all the beautiful lessons it has taught me.
Very often, we get caught up in the race, get sucked in the dramas of everyday life.
Illnesses help to slow us down, put things in perspective (provided we 'see' it) and teach us (provided we are willing to learn).
As a matter of fact, if you think about it, everything in life is teaching us.
Never fear or dislike illnesses or whatever that happens in your life.
Embrace it. Totally, fully, completely. Be One with It.
That's when you really experience life, and 'taste' it as it is.
Cos' very often, we are much stronger than our fears.
And more competent than our worries. Try it.
The next time you come across a problem/fear, pause.
Look back, and you'll realise you have come across this problem/fear before.
After all, why the hurry? Why the haste? Why rush?
Why not slow down, stop and take a breath instead?
Why do we have to be doing things all the time?
Why can't we put them down once in a while, and do nothing?
Some people may say, "Then the world won't move."
The world will always move, with or without you.
Cos' there will always be people who'll keep the world moving, who'll want the world to move, who can't let go.
And that person does not have to be you.
Think about it.
A Buddha is one who was in the race, but stopped. Looked, observed, Analysed.
Turned around and walked the other way-
Away from the crowd.
Away from everyone else.
Away from the world.
Who are you going to be?
Who, would you like to be?
"The ordinary man always sees the darkness and the misery of this world, but the yogi sees the grand beauty and the real nature of the world."
- Venerable Dr K. Sri Dhammananda
"Modern man is so busy with his business of earning for a living that he has no time to live."
- Venerable Dr K. Sri Dhammananda
"Why rush? The more you rush, the faster and the earlier you'll land in your grave."
