I am currently reading a pre-publication copy of a wonderful new book about illness, entitled How To Be Sick, by Toni Bernhard. Toni was a long-time Buddhist practitioner and law school dean when she came back from Paris, France with a viral illness, and after seven years, has still not recovered. She has what is usually called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, (CFS) but she has been variously diagnosed with twenty or so different conditions, each with its own three or four letter acronym. Just seeing her list of the various acronyms is a teaching in itself about how little medical science often knows about an illness, and how much, in the end, we are on our own.
It’s both painful and inspiring to read about the long, long journey of doctor’s offices, diagnostic tests, hopeful signs, hopelessness and despair, and finally her path to deep acceptance of her situation. She shares the many Buddhist (and non-Buddhist) spiritual practices she used to cope with her situation. One I wanted to share here is what she calls “weather practice.” She describes it this way:
Recognize that these physical symptoms are as unpredictable as the weather and could change at any moment. The wind blew the discomfort in and it may blow it out at any moment. If a new medical problem develops (like an injury), recall that no forecast of the future could have been certain, no matter how many precautions you took.
I like this practice. It particularly resonates for cancer (I am a cancer survivor). I am always telling people who ask me how to deal with their cancer to remember that cancer is a roller coaster. It goes up, it goes down. You never know. But I like Toni’s weather image better. Even when we are healthy, our mood tends to follow the weather.
Be sure to look for Toni’s book when it comes out in September of this year. If you are suffering from illness or know someone who is, Toni’s book is sure to help.
Thanks for this, Lew. Sounds like a wonderful book as we age. We are of the nature to get sick. We cannot escape sickness…it’s good to be reminded that acceptance of the here and now, of whatever it may consist is the wisest path.
Wow, I can’t wait to read the book. Whenever a new tangent of my usual “issues” comes up I remember that it is important to “see around the corner”. I always try to remind myself that it is never too late to turn, (in Hebrew it’s called Teshuvah and also means repentance/rethinking). It is never too late for the problem to clear up as suddenly or slowly as it appeared. Help is always on its way. Maybe a prayer, maybe a breath, maybe a medication or even a phone call. We never know so we need to remain very alert and watchful.
I like the optimism of your comment; maybe, maybe not, redemption is always on it’s way, but may not be in a form we immediately recognize.