Most of us have experienced a fever every now and then as the body is defending itself from a foreign invader or possibly for another reason. In my recent case, it was from covid. Though it wasn’t necessarily a high fever, for those couple of days I felt disabled. My mind and body were tired and groggy, making me unable to function as normal. I had no appetite and couldn’t sleep solidly through the night. As I lay there for the majority of two days, I was listening to the birds or the wind or the April rain or just being another thing amongst the silence that was around me. I was forced into meditation. I wasn’t aware of the great benefit of a fever.
Does Your Mind Have a Mind of its Own?
I’ve learned various forms of meditation, as one is interested in health and the body. Some are giving the mind a place to go while others are just sitting and allowing the mind to go wherever. We can come back to our breath or focus on a sound or a candle or even movement. The interesting part to me is becoming more aware of my mind and ultimately having some control of it. Ideally, we can choose how we want to use the mind and its thinking, the same way we choose how we want to use the body. You may decide you want to play tennis with a friend tomorrow in the sunshine or you can decide you want to think about a work concern after dinner for an hour. When the work concern seems to wake you up at 1 am without you choosing this, you may feel that your mind has a mind of its own.
When reflecting on my recent fever time, I realize how my mind is going all day without much of a time out. I still have a couple of kiddos at home who I’m shuttling around and making sure are fed and have everything they need, as well as caring for my patients throughout the day, managing a practice, being present with my wife, helping keep a clean home and property, maintaining friendships, feeding animals, and keeping track of all the responsibilities and details of daily living. We each could list our own specifics here. I feel grateful to have such a full, active, and productive life. Yet it was so refreshing to have a break from my mind fielding all the details to keep everything straight, organized, and moving forward.
Take a Mental Break
One thing we can do to keep a sense of mental balance each day is to give ourselves that break with meditation. If I were building a house today, I would be carrying heavy things here and there, measuring, hammering, and climbing. I would need to take breaks to keep on going effectively for my body’s strength, stamina, health, and safety. We are doing constant mental work to keep ourselves organized, our work duties moving forward, our kids healthy, our parents safe, and to stay aware of social and global concerns. We need to decide on what food we’ll be eating this week and how we’ll get that food and when we’ll prepare it. These are all the details of life that hopefully are mostly enjoyable. That fever helped me further see how much of this is going on in my mind and how I can take care of myself by giving it a break or two throughout the day.
I’m hoping you can relate to this and see the value in taking such a mental break in your day. Some people take a run for this purpose. A short walk may give you something to look at and listen to. Feeling the cold Winter air on us during a short walk can help give us that break from whatever ride our mind is currently on. Focusing on your senses is a great benefit when it comes to letting go of your thinking. You can simply make the choice to sit comfortably for twenty minutes, listen to any sounds, or even notice being in silence. If you take a break to listen to a podcast, that would keep your mind thinking. The goal is to give yourself a rest from your mind. It is possible. I enjoy doing qi gong, a Chinese exercise that is a kind of moving meditation. It gives my mind a place to go in coordination with the specific movements I’m making.
Enjoy the break for your mind whenever you decide it’s needed for you. We don’t have to let our minds and their thoughts control the whole show. And I hope you don’t have to experience a fever to learn this one.