I once saw these words written on the back of a café receipt:
“Recover from mental fatigue through the body, and from physical fatigue through the mind.”
I thought, “That makes a lot of sense.”
A few days ago, my grandfather was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. I wanted to go to him, but I wasn’t feeling well myself and had to give up.
I told myself that there would be another chance to see him.
Two nights later, I had a dream about my grandfather.
In the dream, he was moving incredibly nimbly, dancing like someone doing street dance in New York.
I thought, “Stop! It’s dangerous!” and tried to stop him—but that was where the dream ended.
The next morning, I received the news that my grandfather had passed away the night before.
Some time later, I came to realize that the dream may have been my grandfather’s joy at being freed from a body that had become difficult to move in.
When he was alive, my grandfather used to say that his dream was to ride a horse across Mongolia.
Perhaps he’s riding freely across the Mongolian steppe now!
Because I live far away, I couldn’t attend the wake or funeral. For the past few days, I’ve been filled with a sense of sadness and helplessness.
But I decided to start by taking care of my body through food and gentle exercise.
To take care of the mind, start by taking care of the body.
Even when we try to work through emotional struggles with our minds alone, it doesn’t always go very well.
Eat well, get some sunlight and go for a walk, stay active during the day, warm yourself up in the bath, and get some sleep at night.
On the other hand, when your body isn’t feeling well, it can also be helpful to look at your state of mind.
For the past few years, I’ve occasionally experienced heart palpitations and chest pain. Even after having tests at the hospital, the cause remained unclear.
When I become too focused on my heart, I don’t feel like moving very much, which can make me feel even worse.
But when I simply tell myself, “Well, I’m still alive, and I can still walk. There’s no point in worrying about it,” and let go of the worry, strangely enough, my heart starts to feel lighter.
I can understand why people say, “Illness can be affected by the mind.”
Approach emotional struggles through the body, and physical struggles through the mind.
I hope something here may be helpful to you, too. 🍀
Thank you for reading. 😊