By Shae Hadden | Bio
How often do we relate to our health as we grow older as something ‘less than’ what it was in the past? I am reminded of a dear friend in her 20s who has lived with polio all her life. For her, the baseline of health is so very different than mine, and yet, as she grows older, she too is caught up in the ‘less than’ comparison. Over the past few months, I have been discovering another way of relating to my health—both present and future. I have been discovering that I am not my health or any story I may have about what was possible in the past or what’s possible in the future for my body. I am learning how to be a patient patient, a middle-aged woman committed to my healing process.Being
a patient patient is surrendering to ‘what is’ and being committed to
our own healing process—no matter what that involves. For me, this
shows up these days as learning how to balance regaining my strength
after several months of illness and surgery and the need to keep moving
my body and stimulating my mind to support my beleaguered immune system
and enhance my recovery. The balance shifts constantly: one day there’s
an