Jewish Musings, Wednesday 6/12

[lee058]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.


Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:


Frieda (hopefully)?
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy


And for those of you that stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well and SAFE! Please pray for Israel.

Today's topic: Health and illness.

How do they make you think about the other? Does feeling healthy make you worry about getting sick? Does feeling sick make you grateful for when you feel healthy? Do you worry about staying sick?

For me, I have been feeling sick with a bad cold lately but fortunately am much better than I was a week or so ago. I definitely feel grateful for getting healthier! I have to admit that some thoughts of, "When will I get healthier already??" passed through my head more than once. However, at the same time, I was also worried about DS possibly getting sick (he seems to have avoided it, thank goodness), and that distracted me from thinking about myself. DH is getting better too, finally; his cold has lasted for weeks.

When I am feeling healthy, I try to not think about getting sick. This is part of my whole life attitude; I try to look on the bright side of things. Nonetheless, negative feelings do lurk around, and sometimes need to be dealt with as firmly as possible. I tell myself that worrying about things that aren't happening just makes life gloomier, and doesn't help me love life more.

I'll try and write more later if I can sort out my thoughts and feelings coherently. Have a peaceful day, Lee

[gazelle18]

My main health related illness these days is a chronically sore hip. It’s not arthritis, and I don’t need a new hip, thankfully. It’s chronic tendinitis, which seems to never go away. I have been to three different doctors about it. I’ve done PT, I’ve taken anti inflammatories, I’ve iced it, I’ve heated it, and I’ve had it massaged. It gets better, then it gets worse. Very discouraging, but I’m hoping it will improve in the near future.

[gazelle18]

Chag sameach, everyone!

[hollygail]

I didn't get here yesterday. My answer for yesterday's topic: YES. I often stop strangers to compliment a blouse or scarf or whatever (sometimes the person is so appreciative that I get the whole story about who gifted the item or some other story about it). One time, I was walking on a city street (note: "city" in this case means a relatively small one, very safe / low crime statistics, etc.) on my way to a job interview. I walked past a man who smiled and/or said hello to me. I wasn't exactly rude, but didn't give him much of a response. He was dressed nicely, but still and all, I was on my way to a job interview, a woman walking by myself, and he was a man walking by himself... Yes, ladies, he turned out to be my interviewer. I was quick to tell him that the reason I didn't respond in a more friendly way was the simple fact that I was a woman / he was a man, I didn't know who he was and safety was my concern, and nothing else. He genuinely seemed to believe me 100% (and in the interview, he came off as a very friendly professional person). (It wasn't a good job for me; he may have offered it to me, or else said something in the way of it was mine if I wanted it or something like that.)

Today's: I've been ill for more than two weeks. It's viral and there's not much you can do for a viral problem. It has to run its course. I feel much better (and went to last night's study session; left after the first two of three study sessions; my rabbi did the second one) today (and yesterday too) and the mucus is almost gone. I much prefer to be healthy. No question. But no, I don't consider illness when I'm well and I don't feel more "blessed" (than usual) when I'm well...