My brother had a bad case of food poisoning this week.
He was so sick; he couldn’t remember what feeling “well” felt like.
When he started to come right, his first thought was, “Good, I’ll be able to get back to work.”
As he reflected on those words, he questioned his thinking.
Was being “well to work” the only prize for feeling better?
Was “getting back to work” the only plan post-sickness?
I had an appointment today and my doctor shared how it has taken her two years to recover from a head injury. She is currently looking forward to “being back full-time”.
When a tree crashed on top of my car a few years back, my first thought was, “Oh no, I have so much work to do tomorrow”.
It occurred to me as I reflected on these stories that many of us measure wellness with our capacity to work. That being “back at work” equals getting back to “normal.”
I wonder though if post-sickness or accident, we need to measure recovery with a different yardstick.
Hard when there are bills to pay… and “normal” to live up to. But worth contemplating.
Photo by Kristine Wook on Unsplash
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