Rest and Recovery

     I had an adventure this weekend to visit a friend who had had double knee-replacement surgery last week. Quite a bold surgical move, but the increasing pain made it the best option, and it was finally done. He also had some complications afterward, which resulted in his body recovering from more than "just" the knee replacements.
     My friend is up and walking nicely with a walker. He has long incisions with staples holding them closed to heal. He wants to be all well, recovered and back to his normal life NOW. He can get frustrated that the recovery is taking "so long."
     We had a couple of discussions about how humans generally grossly underestimate the amount of energy it takes to heal our bodies, be it a minor thing like a new tattoo or major surgery. We think that the more we force the issue (rehab, meds, whatever), the sooner we'll heal and be back to our routine. If you've ever had surgery or a muscle or ligament injury, you know that the body heals in its own long time. No amount of rushing, pushing or wishing makes it go faster.
     Our bodies are amazingly intelligent and thankfully, they do what needs to be done without our conscious guidance. What about adopting the attitude of supporting that intelligence with abundant rest, patience, peacefulness and appreciation rather than an exasperated "too slow!"?
      Blessings,
           Leta