If you’ve ever had an illness that has kept you confined to your bed for over a month, you’ll understand the sheer frustration you experience. You want to get well, you want to move about, you want to get back to normal – quickly. But that’s the worst thing to do – you might have a relapse. The best way to do it is to allow yourself to recuperate gently.
Recuperate Gently
When I was 15, I had an unknown illness that lasted for over 45 days. Fever, weakness, vomiting, fainting. The doctors conducted test after test, but came to no positive conclusion. Whenever, my fever went up, I would faint. Often, my poor Mum, would have to half carry me to the washroom. The weakness and helplessness made me feel frustrated. I was too weak to even read a book. There were a few days when I begged to die. Yes, I do know people go through much worse, but at the time that’s how I felt.
In simple words, I was in a hurry to recover. To back to college. To get back to normal.
I had visitors. Family. Friends. Even the nuns from my college. They came to pray. One of them realized how I felt and very wisely said, “ When you feel upset, just sit on the bed, and look outside the window at that huge tree. And just relax.” I realize now that she was teaching me to meditate, to rest within myself – to allow myself to focus on Nature and the quiet and to recuperate gently.
Recuperate = Recover / Regain / Restore
We tend to use the word recuperate when talking about recovering our physical health, but it can extend to other things too. Heart break. Stress. Being let down by someone close to us. For me, I had to learn to forgive myself for the wrong choices I had made. Recovery takes time and we must be gentle with ourselves.
Make Time To Recuperate Regularly
For some of us, as soon as we awake, our minds start to rush about planning the day and worse, worrying about it. Will I be able to make that appointment on time? How will my child do in her test today? Did I remember to buy enough bread? On and on it goes.
Stress takes over our life. Our minds try to cope with it. Our bodies barely make it. We need to stay focused on the present and not worry about things that are beyond our control.

I love this mantra that I read recently : “Don’t go in your mind where your body is not.” It reminded me of the advice from the nun. To stop and meditate. Not to let my mind run. To be present where I am.
If only we would all take at least a few hours every week to recuperate gently. To heal ourselves from the stress, the madness of day to day life. Even better, if we’d spend a few minutes every day just resting, breathing deeply and thinking good thoughts.
Just for today, my thoughts will be on those who love me
Maria Shriver
Just for today, my thoughts are on my recovery
Just for today, my thoughts are on my blessings
Just for today, my thoughts are on one thing I’m grateful for.
#Write28Days
I’m undertaking the #Write28Days Challenge and will be posting every day in February. I will combine this with my regular features – #MondayMusings, #FiveMinuteFriday and #100WordsOnSaturday.


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Great advice and encouragement!
Glad you liked it, Jodee.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..We All Need An Observant Witness
I once had an illness that caused me to miss a month of school (when I was a teacher). It would have been longer, but our Christmas vacation fell during the time I was sick. I wanted to get back to normal as quickly as possible, but I finally had to admit that I needed rest. I love the mantra you shared!
Laurie recently posted..Running on Empty
I think as our bodies age we need to extend patience and grace to ourselves. We are all in need of permission to rest and rejuvenate.
Wow–“Don’t go in your mind where your body is not.” That’s great advice for me. My mind often wanders off to a million places instead of sitting with me right where I am. Thanks for sharing, Corrine!
(I think I’m going to have to recuperate after #Write28Days is over…So.Much.Writing. lol)
I loved this quote, “Don’t go in your mind where your body is not.” And yes, we need to be present in the moment with an open mind. Thanks for sharing!
Being in the present moment and breathing deeply and being grateful even if we had only one thing to be grateful for—these are all things that I can understand best now and realise how much we all need these restful moments to recover and let go, in order to be able to move on.
Wonderful reminder, Corinne!
I can understand how miserable you must’ve felt during that time of illness, Corinne. When I was 10 I got sick with jaundice as a result of which I got hospitalized for a month and lost three months of school days. All I wanted was to go back to school. Of course, I didn’t know anything about stillness or meditation at that time. This post resonates with me in more ways than one, Corinne.
Vinitha recently posted..Fiction Monday – 34
Being in the moment and focussing on breathing has helped me a lot in improving my anxiety condition. “Don’t go in your mind where your body isn’t” is a gem of a line. I just wish I knew meditation and gratitude in the earlier days of my life. Yet, I am glad and grateful that I know how to practice them now and live a blessed life.
Anamika Agnihotri recently posted..Lemur and her Magical Pets by Nesrine Sleiman : Spotlight Book Tour
This post is so apt for our pandemic times since there are so many of us who just want to get back to normal. Maybe we should really slow down and breathe easy!