muscle tension
Letting go of the fear of Lyme symptoms
A friend popped in while on a road trip last week. She and I have never met in person before, just over Skype, for business. During dinner we discovered that we’d both had Lyme. And we’re both recovered.
Has that ever happened to you? Someone you’d never suspect turns out to be a recovered Lymie? I was really taken by surprise, because Stephanie is someone I’ve always known was brilliant. She’s loquacious, funny, sensitive and inquisitive. She’s verbal. We’re both English teachers, and that tells you something about our common love of language. (And our common fear of and frustration with brain-fog!) But she’s also a Fulbright Scholar (which I’m not), she worked for a megalithic TV corporation for many years, and she is a bona fide cinematographer. And she’s been honored by government officials for her humanitarian efforts that led to actual laws being changed. And...she’s had Lyme disease.
Okay, enough of my brag about her. Suffice it to say, we’ve all known people who seem to have a lighted star over their heads wherever they wander in this world. She’s just one of those. But at dinner, as she lowered herself into our Japanese-style seating (yes, we eat sitting on the floor), I heard her say that she’s been having some stiffness ever since Lyme disease.
My ears perked up. I couldn’t believe it. She’s just returned from a year in China, and is on her way to Micronesia for two years. I leave my house to go to the grocery store every few days. I have what’s called a low threshold of adventure, which is I believe, the medical term for it. Stephanie’s got just the opposite. Little wonder she can tell a story and make you laugh, get hired on a dime and make a friend in the time it takes to wash your hands. She’s got no fear of the world. Did I mention she lives on a houseboat when she’s Stateside?
Her neck, however, was stiff the night she had dinner with us. She and I had a lot to say to each other about Lyme, but we talked about everything else under the sun that night too, and that’s another sign that we both live post-Lyme lives, isn’t it? But she was very interested in hearing about sugar’s effects on Lyme, and we traded notes on our workout routines. Turns out she’d been putting her sore back and neck down to age. But she found out that my yoga routine is keeping me limber and strong, and I have no soreness to speak of (not Lyme-related anymore, that is). She vowed to get better about regular exercise. I hope she keeps her promise to herself, because I know how much it helps me. We talked about our love for learning new skills and languages, and how that helps our mental muscles stay toned and flexible. And she has set the bar high for me. I am seriously going to consider traveling abroad soon. Letting go of the fear, and the image of myself as a recovering sick person is the one last stand to truly embracing wellness.
Do you have a remarkable friend who has walked a path you’d like to walk? Would you do it if you didn’t fear Lyme disease, or its effect on you? Please tell me about it. I’d love to hear your perspective.
For further reading about the four fundamental dimensions of healing from Lyme, click here.
Has that ever happened to you? Someone you’d never suspect turns out to be a recovered Lymie? I was really taken by surprise, because Stephanie is someone I’ve always known was brilliant. She’s loquacious, funny, sensitive and inquisitive. She’s verbal. We’re both English teachers, and that tells you something about our common love of language. (And our common fear of and frustration with brain-fog!) But she’s also a Fulbright Scholar (which I’m not), she worked for a megalithic TV corporation for many years, and she is a bona fide cinematographer. And she’s been honored by government officials for her humanitarian efforts that led to actual laws being changed. And...she’s had Lyme disease.
Okay, enough of my brag about her. Suffice it to say, we’ve all known people who seem to have a lighted star over their heads wherever they wander in this world. She’s just one of those. But at dinner, as she lowered herself into our Japanese-style seating (yes, we eat sitting on the floor), I heard her say that she’s been having some stiffness ever since Lyme disease.
My ears perked up. I couldn’t believe it. She’s just returned from a year in China, and is on her way to Micronesia for two years. I leave my house to go to the grocery store every few days. I have what’s called a low threshold of adventure, which is I believe, the medical term for it. Stephanie’s got just the opposite. Little wonder she can tell a story and make you laugh, get hired on a dime and make a friend in the time it takes to wash your hands. She’s got no fear of the world. Did I mention she lives on a houseboat when she’s Stateside?
Her neck, however, was stiff the night she had dinner with us. She and I had a lot to say to each other about Lyme, but we talked about everything else under the sun that night too, and that’s another sign that we both live post-Lyme lives, isn’t it? But she was very interested in hearing about sugar’s effects on Lyme, and we traded notes on our workout routines. Turns out she’d been putting her sore back and neck down to age. But she found out that my yoga routine is keeping me limber and strong, and I have no soreness to speak of (not Lyme-related anymore, that is). She vowed to get better about regular exercise. I hope she keeps her promise to herself, because I know how much it helps me. We talked about our love for learning new skills and languages, and how that helps our mental muscles stay toned and flexible. And she has set the bar high for me. I am seriously going to consider traveling abroad soon. Letting go of the fear, and the image of myself as a recovering sick person is the one last stand to truly embracing wellness.
Do you have a remarkable friend who has walked a path you’d like to walk? Would you do it if you didn’t fear Lyme disease, or its effect on you? Please tell me about it. I’d love to hear your perspective.
For further reading about the four fundamental dimensions of healing from Lyme, click here.
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