Sometimes patience is not one of my virtues
I bring this up because about three weeks ago I had some minor surgery and am not supposed to not do any serious exercise for at least 5 to 6 weeks.
About the first week after surgery I was itching to start working out again. However, I overcame my desire for a dose of endorphins because I wanted my recovery to be complete before I got started again.
And this is not the first experience I've had having to learn patience. A year ago February 7 a car ran a red light and totaled my car, hitting my driver side door and injuring both me and my daughter.
She suffered some serious damage to her pelvic area and and internal organs. My sternum was fractured from top to bottom, my three left ribs were broken, my left shin had the skin taken off of it, and my right knee cap came loose.
And this accident created another situation where I had to develop patience. I couldn't work out at all for about six weeks. Then I had to start very lightly and very slowly – mostly doing calisthenics and walking.
I had almost gotten back into my pre-accident condition when I had another accident in my home gym and broke three ribs on the left side. Again, I had to practice a lot of patience before I was able to get back to my exercise routine.
I have a lot of conversations with myself about acceptance, tolerance, and patience. But that's the way I roll. When something isn't going my way I sometimes have to spend a lot of time talking to myself until I realize that this too shall pass or something new will come up in life. The one thing life teaches us, the longer we're on the planet, is that the only constant in our lives is the changes that sometimes happen when we least expect them.
I know that many in recovery abhor exercise. But for me it's been one of the pillars of my recovery. I don't exercise for any other reason than to stay healthy and mobile as I move into my mid 80s. I'm a person who believes that I'm responsible for my own health, not my doctor. While I use the doctor when necessary, I maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I guess that's why I'm impatient today.
This might not seem to be the right topic for a recovery blog. Yet I think that a successful recovery is based on a lot of patience, acceptance, and tolerance – something we can benefit from by applying them in all areas of our life.
And even though I've put all these words on my screen and believe everything I'm saying here, I still have the urge to get back into my routine. But I won't because I have the patience to wait - for my own good.
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