Well now, of all my many writings, few seem more relevant to me at the moment, given my recent brush with pneumonia, than the following, taken from the reprinted version of my book Seize the Day. It explores issues of sickness and health, and how we tend only fully to appreciate the latter when we face the former. Happily, I’m feeling so much better than I was, and should you be inspired on reading this extract to purchase a copy of the book, rest assured, I’ll be feeling even better still. 🙂
Some people will tell you that suffering is good for the soul
Health is the greatest possession.
Lao-tzu
The wise should consider that health
is the greatest of human blessings,
and learn how by their own thought
to derive benefit from their illnesses.
Hippocrates
The human spirit can cope with illness,
but which of us can get by when our spirit is broken?
Proverbs 18:14
Some people will tell you that suffering is good for the soul,
that illness can be a blessing –
even that there is something noble about it,
ill-health helping to build character.
Do not listen to them.
For though they mean well,
and their words may sound like wisdom,
such talk is folly,
born of the desire to make sense of the nonsensical,
to find meaning where none can be found.
There is no gift more precious than your health,
nothing more special than to be well,
and those who claim otherwise have either
not known what it is to lose it
or are trying to deny what they’d rather not admit.
To experience pain each day is a trial,
not an opportunity.
To wrestle with chronic illness,
or struggle with incurable disease,
does not bring hidden joys
but patent sorrow.
However much we might dress it up,
sickness is gruelling,
testing,
sometimes terrifying,
too often robbing people of dignity
as well as of any pleasure in life.
Yet if it is hard at times to bear,
do not conclude that all is lost,
for though much may assault the human spirit
it takes more to break it,
and though the body may be bowed down,
still the soul can soar.
Yes, much has been taken away,
but something yet can be found:
an appreciation of the moment,
and a resolve to live it to the full;
a realisation of how precious life is,
to be celebrated while we can.
Value your health, then, while you have it,
for you will mourn when it is gone,
but should that moment come,
do not despair,
for though illness may rob us of much,
until this life is over, it can never quite take all.