Hi Everyone,
I was recently reading an article about a strategy to foster wellness and healing in your mind and body. Basically the article promotes that you pretend you are healthy and strong, with wellness coursing through you. At first I thought it would not work, because you would know you were pretending. But, not one to ever skip trying a possible “treatment”, I decided to give it a shot.
So, I began to think of ways to “act” and “think” as if I was healthy. I pictured how I wanted to be. I changed my mindset by saying to myself that I was sending health and wellness to every cell in my body, and that I did not have cancer. I know it sounds crazy, but it worked. I instantly felt a surge of energy just with that single set of thoughts and visions. So I jumped on it and began doing normal, productive things to bolster the sensation of strength and good health. Even if I had to drag myself through an activity, I would pretend as if I was energized and totally engaged. I tried to string a few activities together, not ones that required huge effort, but ones that made me feel whole, and normal. I enlisted my husband Ken as my cohort in this plan. We drove to the beach and walked to the shoreline, feeling the wind and bracing ourselves for the cold. We went grocery shopping to purchase items for our local food bank. I worked on our indoor plants, pruning and feeding them. I wrote letters and sent cards to several friends. We went out and about our town to ask local businesses for donations for raffle baskets for a local charity group I volunteer with. We did some painting in our home. I did some cooking. I went to a Zumba class. I read a good book.
I know the above endeavors seem random and unconnected, but they all had the same impact on me. By “pretending” to be healthy through a variety of seemingly random activities, I was convincing, maybe even fooling, myself that I was well, healthy, and fully participating in and contributing to life. I experienced an energizing, positive rush, coming in spurts as I did each activity. I was engaging with life and it felt so powerful, so positive, so healthy. Even if I was not feeling up to an activity, I literally pretended that I had the energy and stamina to complete them, and it really worked. Yes I had to rest in between my endeavors. Some days I would have to rest for the entire day, too depleted to do anything. But even during those days I did some pretending, telling myself that healthy cells were being made while I rested, that my body was rejuvenating itself and growing strong, that rest was a productive, normal, healthy act. I likened it to taking an intermission between acts of a play. It all had an amazing effect on me, one I will continue to embrace and continue.
So, write your own play, you be the star, and see if it helps. Picture how you want to be, and act as if you already were. Feel free to take as many curtain calls as you like, and tell yourself “Bravo!”.
Until Next Time,
MJ Keenan