Letting go
Tuesday, 27. March 2007, 13:44:05
A few weeks ago I underwent surgery in my left ear at the national hospital in Norway - Rikshospitalet. It's a pretty serious surgery in the sense that they enter the middle ear (inside the ear drum) and remove some stuff that shouldn't be there.
Spending time in a hospital is usually not pleasant. You're probably undergoing some kind of physical treatment, the food is so-so and everyone around you (except nurses, doctors, etc) are sick too. This shouldn't be the breeding ground for deep-rooted feelings of relaxation and happiness.
But that's exactly how I felt. Somewhere deep inside I felt relaxed and happy. For a while I couldn't understand how that could be.
A week or two after the surgery I started realizing the answer. I realized that at a hospital, nothing really matters except your physical condition. What happens in your social life doesn't matter. What's going on at work is irrelevant. The rest of the world is simply not interesting.
The effect of this state of mind is bolstered by an additional factor: After a serious surgery you're obviously not feeling your best, but doctors and nurses are doing their utmost to make you feel comfortable. The health personnel that entered my room only came there to give me another shot of some relaxing drug or feed me food. Perfect.
The underlying principle is that you can't do much to help yourself, except relaxing and letting time pass. If you accept your situation, feel fairly safe about your medical prospects and don't have too much pain --- that's a perfect situation. You're not held responsible for anything, someone is feeding you food/drugs and there's nothing to do but relax.
We all need breaks like that once in a while. It's 100% letting go.
Spending time in a hospital is usually not pleasant. You're probably undergoing some kind of physical treatment, the food is so-so and everyone around you (except nurses, doctors, etc) are sick too. This shouldn't be the breeding ground for deep-rooted feelings of relaxation and happiness.
But that's exactly how I felt. Somewhere deep inside I felt relaxed and happy. For a while I couldn't understand how that could be.
A week or two after the surgery I started realizing the answer. I realized that at a hospital, nothing really matters except your physical condition. What happens in your social life doesn't matter. What's going on at work is irrelevant. The rest of the world is simply not interesting.
The effect of this state of mind is bolstered by an additional factor: After a serious surgery you're obviously not feeling your best, but doctors and nurses are doing their utmost to make you feel comfortable. The health personnel that entered my room only came there to give me another shot of some relaxing drug or feed me food. Perfect.
The underlying principle is that you can't do much to help yourself, except relaxing and letting time pass. If you accept your situation, feel fairly safe about your medical prospects and don't have too much pain --- that's a perfect situation. You're not held responsible for anything, someone is feeding you food/drugs and there's nothing to do but relax.
We all need breaks like that once in a while. It's 100% letting go.
WIDGETIZE