Are you "In the Trenches?"
If you are, good for you. Keep trudging forward. What you gain through the struggle might just help you heal.
You may connote "The Trenches" with the military and the field of battle. We all admire the valor of the young brave captain running ahead in front of his platoon, leading his men into battle, making a charge forward into an unknown fate. The captain is in the trenches, at the point of conflict, with valor powering his spirit forward.
But you are that young captain, surging forward, charging into an unknown fate. And, like that captain, you can align with the powerful energy of such valor to propel you forward in fighting disease, illness and avoiding injury, for it is the very nature of the power of the spirit that helps you heal.
So, what does it mean to be in the trenches in life? Let's look at any parent out there grappling with a morning alarm clock. You are summoned to arise when it would be so nice to sleep in -- but you find the strength to answer the bell, if not for you, then for the children. Awake early after a late night feeding schedule for your newborn; or up late with a poorly sleeping toddler with a stuffy nose; or delayed to bed to help finish homework with your grade-schooler; or maybe tossing and turning waiting for your 16-year-old to return home with the car, while you worry sleepless.
The alarm calls you to action, and you find yourself at the point of conflict. Tired, fatigued, yet with business to be tended to. Responsibility, obligations to be fulfilled, issues to be tackled. With no retreat, no surrender, no other palatable recourse, you step up and face the challenges demanded of you in this moment of time. Each aspect of parenthood demands bravery and valor to avoid the surrender to the day, with each day carrying the potential for frustration where you might throw up you implode, overwhelmed. But you need to know you do yourself good. There is valuable power to be gained by answering the bell, and lumbering to your feet. There is personal power to be gained. Enduring the challenges that you laid before you actually leaves your spirit more powerful. The self worth you gain can be used later on. The power of self worth, actually helps your body heal. Healing takes power that exists in the form of spiritual energy. Power is essential in fighting illness and disease, and it is power that leads to healing.
A ladies' tennis match seems an unusual venue to talk about healing, but...
It appears innocent enough: you're out on the court, a nice day, teammates around, perhaps energized by the feeling of camaraderie, perhaps enthused by the thought of an opportunity to play. You might even be energized by the very nature of the sport itself. Nonetheless you find yourself in the trenches -- at the point of conflict. Many of you put yourself out there -- exposed and to some extent vulnerable. You are not a professionally trained athlete yet you find yourself in a fierce competition. You have met a foe in combat: perhaps a timid mind that doubts, -- "can I do it" -- perhaps a body that aches with a cut to the right and a lunge to the left, perhaps a self image that says: "I once looked sleeker in such short and revealing clothes." But you suit up and compete nonetheless. You must know -- you help yourself heal, because it is courage that you gain, not a win or a loss. You help yourself by what you become by wading through the trenches with your emotions in tow. You add energy and personal power to your system when you demonstrate courage against the foe of physical challenge, of a mind and of doubt and fear. You gain energy to your spiritual energy bank.
The circumstances and stakes may vary, and the challenges in your life are likely unique to your individual physiology and skill set. You may not see yourself as a soldier, but at some level I know you are a brother in arms, at the point of some conflict in your life. And thank goodness, for there is power to be gained right there in the trenches of your life. Power that helps you heal. In the trenches, you take up the challenges at the point of some conflict. As you live life in the trenches, you fight battles, at times surrendering to the day, but then again rising up again to dust off dirty pants and wipe off the blood from your nose and get up again. Let the imagery of such valor inspire you, as the alarm sounds off too early, still weary from the night before.
Healing cell tissue takes courage.
Your body has the essential components intrinsic to repair cells, but healing physical illness and injury requires those intrinsic components to spring into action, and the components require energy given by the spirit. Power from the spirit is said to animate cells, cause them to spin and vibrate in a manner that repairs, soothes and heals; the healing power emanates from the very nature of your being. Being valorous serves your soul, and energizes your spirit. In the state of such power, the cells of your body will begin pulsating and vibrating with the healing energy of life. Healing does not happen in despair, in anger. Healing will not be effective in low energy states of being below a threshold level. But when you tap into your inner courage gained from facing the challenges and fears that grab a hold of you, you tap into an enormous energy source that serves you well in your journey towards health, a journey of life and transcendence.
Peter Rappa, M.D. is the author of Healing Heart to Soul: One Doctor's Journey of Health, Healing, and Life (Brown Books). For more information visit his website, Healinghearttosoul.com.
