“Wisdom is to the soul what health is to the body” -De Saint-Real

I am reminded over and over that health is greatest and most essential possession of all. Sadly it is often in the throes of illness that this reflection comes so clear. You never feel so well as the days after you recover from feeling so badly. There is nothing taken for granted about pain-free movement after a bout with a bad back.

I have been working to fortify my blood lately and not really willing to admit to the fragility of my condition. Between losing sleep to anxiety last night and a follow up call with my healthcare provider, today I am more authentically conscious of how I am. I don’t want to be one who ignores the writing on the wall until the wall comes crashing down. Finding a positive relationship to this current health crisis requires a change in lifestyle not just repeating positive affirmations. 

Emerson wrote, “Health is the first muse, and sleep is the condition to produce it.” Building blood requires rest in a concentrated dose, this is non-negotiable. I have to give my health priority. Strengthening my immune system has to be more important than building a business. This seems straightforward, but hard to know what to do with the commitments in which I have already invested so much time and energy.

The Buddha said, “Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.” I am at a turning point in my own story and as much as I would like to win this local angel investment contest coming up on Thursday, I don’t want it more than my health. That means that at the very least, I have to give up the anxiety about my performance and even the outcome. It also means I need to sleep.