There is a blizzard happening right now in Texas! It’s on the tail end of the COVID pandemic and I can clearly understand how control is a faccade we have in regards to many aspects our lives. This year we have had to pivot and shift as threats and perceived threats have come into focus. We have had to change a lot of aspects of life. This week I was without power for a few days and without water today. The roads are so bad in Texas that it is the safest to stay off them. Which leads to some good ol’ isolation.
This week since I’ve been at home, I got serious about compression on my leg. I made a choice to focus on caring for my body in the midst of so many things out of my control. One could even say, it’s a control move to anchor me. It got me thinking of my motivations behind why I make decisions in my life.
When I first started wearing compression, I did so out of fear; so my leg “wouldn’t get worse”. I think fear tells us to pay attention to something; perhaps this was a healthy fear. Furthermore, attention or awareness is always the first step.
This week I refocused on taking care of myself better not out of fear, but out of reverence for my body. I was able to take advantage of an opportunity of being home alone for a week and choose to love myself in the process. A little trial of 23 hour of compression wrapping/day.
I’m still not quite sure how this motivation change has occurred. Motivation to care for ourselves out of reverence for the human experience versus fear seems sustainable. Perhaps this applies to our diet, our relation to exercise, our concious focus during the day, or the grace we receive when we don’t measure up to our ideals. An orientation of love is renewing while an orientation of fear is depleting.
An anchor is something that holds something in place or grounds an item. I think of an anchor as helpful during a sea that is tossing and turning or when the wind is blowing strongly. I’ve used compression wrapping as an anchor this week to focus on what I can control as opposed to any other number of things to take my mind off of the cold.
The results are also renewing. When my body feels better, I feel bettter. When the s_ hits the fan, it’s time to focus on what we can do. To stay in our own lane, and take care of ourselves the most.
The Lymph Lassie 