Lessons in Empathy

I caught the Norwalk virus Friday. Well, I'm not sure when I caught it, but my stomach started getting REALLY cranky Friday. Thankfully, it is a 24 hour virus so I was starting to feel better on Saturday. I don't think I could have taken any more gut wrenching than I did. I'm still trying to be gentle to my body and eat smaller meals of easily digestible food.

What I've discovered? This is a lesson in empathy. As I lay in bed resting still today and letting my stomach digest a larger lunch, I think about all the people who spend their lives in bed. Not by choice or laziness but by virtue of their bodies giving out, being sick, or some other reason. And perhaps even for those who choose it, I feel their pain.

It is hard to lie in bed and wait for your body to feel better. I cannot imagine thinking that it would only get worse from here on out. Where does one's hope go? Additionally, there is only so much one can do from a bed. You can watch movies and read books or other literature but your activities are severely limited. But hope flutters in other ways, too. It gets old looking at the same view but you learn to pay attention to your visitors, the noises around you, and the changing of the light. You become very aware of where you are and very aware of your body. You cannot not notice.

So for all those stuck in bed today, I wish you visitors, change, relief, and joy in the movement of the sun.