When my now adult son Matthew was a little boy there was some internal processing that went on within him as Labour Day approached and return to school was looming. Almost inevitably he would end up with an ear infection or the flu within the first few weeks of being back in class. When the same illness repeats itself year after year at the same time you can come to understand where the ‘it’s just that time of year’ excusing may come from. There were a few times this past week as I experienced my own adventure with the flu and well meaning family and friends shared that sentiment…’it’s that time of year’…..
I know for Matthew the essence of his annual physical challenges extended far deeper than ‘it’s just that time of year’.…
For my son being home in the summer meant an opportunity to run freely, to swim, catch bugs and play in the rain. To stay up late and sleep in and to eat when his body signalled him it was hungry (almost always after the adventure had ceased for the day).
Matthew relished his freedom – freedom to make choices almost all of his own. For him going back to school signalled conformity and rigidness, those all important rules and every year his body sent him a message to remind him that he was not being who he needed to be. He was never one for conformity or rules. Still isn’t.
I personally was raised to believe that when my siblings and I came down with any kind of flu bug that it was almost always because it was ‘that time of year’.
As a child hearing ‘it’s that time of year (dear)’ enough you come to acquire a wonderful set of beliefs that the flu and likely any other illness that appeared within your physical body was simply due to no responsibility of your own.
That’s a most wonderful way to gallop through life if you can do it, blaming everything outside of you for any physical symptoms of unrest. Our major medical model benefits from this type of belief programming. Walk-in clinics love ‘that time of year’ with lineups stretching out the door. Prescriptions piling up at the pharmacy……
When ‘that time of year’ arrived for me last week I took the opportunity to bring an understanding. I gently asked my body for guidance – it was asking me for love and kindness and beyond that it provided an awareness of something deeper – something that required my understanding and action. Much like my son, my body was sending me a message that there was an old belief that was no longer serving me. An opportunity to go deeper and uncover the origin that manifested itself into a flu bug. I’ve been grieving the passing of my Mom and what that means for my family at ‘that time of year’….a time of giving thanks and spending time with loved ones.
I invite you as we maneuver through the changing of seasons, changing of schedules in your lives, perhaps even changes much larger and more significant than that for you, to bring a greater understanding to the flu – or other physical symptoms that may present themselves in your body at this time. These are gentle reminders of things – old beliefs that may no longer be serving you. I invite you to go deeper.
With Love (and in-sight),
Tammy
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion, position or view of The International College of Medical Intuition