What had the frightening episodes of vertigo come to teach me?
Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash
"The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play." ~Arnold J. Toynbee
As an energy worker, someone immersed in studying and working with the mind-body connection, I knew that the frightening episodes of vertigo that I was experiencing were a wake-up call. The spins, as I call them, had come to teach me something, as all dis-ease does. It didn't take me long to connect the dots: vertigo manifests itself as an imbalance, an inner ear disorder. Where in my life was I experiencing an imbalance? Without hesitation, the answer sprang forth: I needed to put the word play back into my vocabulary.
I love the work I do---writing, creating, photographing, teaching---the range of tasks associated with these endeavors is deeply rewarding, but sometimes, without warning, the output can drain me. Most days I don't recognize the drag on my psyche, but it was hard to ignore the spins. I realized that, in order to heal, I needed to breathe fresh air into my creative blood.
"To heal illness, begin by restoring balance." ~Caroline Myss
Prior to the pandemic, I’d been an avid student, taking adult education classes on oyster farming, near death experiences, the U. S. Constitution, and even airport architecture. For me, learning is a playful pursuit and it activates a childlike exploration within me.
I've been a devotee of Julia Cameron and her groundbreaking work, The Artist's Way, for decades and have always subscribed to her two main tools: Morning Pages, and Artist Dates. A weekly artist date to a bookstore, cafe, museum, or secondhand shop can enliven me, fill me with creative capital, but even those outings have dwindled.
The time has come to correct the imbalance.
Balance is so very crucial in maintaining physical wellness. That now term - the body keeps score - it always has - all the stresses and dis-eases of the mind trickle down and then trickle right back up and then what’s left is an unfiltered plumbing system until we catch it and then do a detox, rebalancing, recalibrating whatever we want to call it or however we want to do it. I do not suffer from vertigo but have experienced spells of dizziness and lightheadedness which have given me sudden pause. It’s in that moment of pause that I ask myself what, why, and then how can I practice a self-care. 🙏🏻
Interesting insight into what your vertigo was telling you. I also find it difficult to let myself play, or even stop writing to take breaks, move around, drink more water, etc. I love writing and get lost in it and lose track of time. In some ways that’s good, but like you said, balance is important.