"Sick Call"

Ugh. I hate being sick....

Tuesday morning I awoke up with a splitting headache, and from there, this frustrating head cold set in. Sure, with a little aspirin, the headache and slight chills vanished in about a day, but the stuffy head and mind-numbing congestion still remain. Plus, for someone who really appreciates a healthy voice, having a severely dimished one is proving to be a real challenge.

However, since I do like to look on the bright side of things, there are actually a few blessings I've discovered about being sick:

First of all, it's rather pointless for me to try and answer the telephone. The poor person on the other end wouldn't be able to hear me anyway, so, why bother, right? I just let them leave a voice message, or let Scott answer it. And, if it's an important call, I can always contact them through other means, or wait until my voice comes back this weekend. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against talking on the phone -- it's a great invention, it's just much more convenient not having to get up and go running to it every time it rings. :)

Second, you really come to appreciate the blessing of a good voice -- especially when you don't have one. Earlier today, Scott was joking around with a variety of character voices, and I so wanted to join in (I am a trained voice actor afterall!), but without the ability to manipulate my own vocal cords, I was reminded of just how much I've lost. Communication truely is the pivital wheel upon which society spins. Without it, life is a heck of a lot harder!

Third, water becomes even more of a valuable commodity. When you're sick, the body needs fluids to help flush out the offending intruders, so, you drink a lot more of it. I'm already an aquaholic when I'm healthy, but being sick tends to remind you how blessed we all are to have that good clean water to drink. Especially when 2/3 of the world doesn't have that same kind of clean water. It makes you think, doesn't it.

Fourth, sleep becomes a hobby when you're not feeling so hot. Usually, when I'm healthy, I rather be up and about doing something productive or mentally stimulating. But when you're sick, your bed tends to look a little more inviting. It's warm, comfortable, and always there for you. And it's really the best place to recover when your under the weather. But, once again, we in these first world countries take this for granted. Not everyone in the world has a nice warm bed.

And finally, when you're sick, you tend to -- even subcontiously -- act more cautiously around others. Point of fact... My landlord stopped by earlier today to drop off the details of a project he was interested in having me do for him. I felt a little strange having to lean in to talk to him just so he could hear me. However, later on I realized that when I did lean in, I wasn't talking right at him. Without knowing it, I was being cautious so as not to breath on him. By not breathing on him, I was hoping to minimize the chances that he might catch this same cold.

It's weird. When we're sick, we just wish the world would slow down and meet us on our level -- the level at which we feel. And we get frustrated when it doesn't. We feel powerless, and useless. Sometimes we even get upset at those around us. But let me ask you this.... When was the last time you felt blessed that you were sick? When was the last time you were laying in that nice warm bed, hacking up a storm, sipping down water, avoiding the telephone, and thinking.... "Man, being sick really does suck, but oh what a blessing it is!"?

Probably never. But here's a challenge for you. Next time you're sick, try thinking about all those blessings -- blessings that will undoubtedly put you back on your feet in a few days rather than six feet underground.

It really is powerful stuff if you take the time to think about it.

Have a blessed Friday all, and until next time,

Your happily back-to-blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:09 PM  I   I  0 comments