My head hurts, my feet stink and I don’t love Jesus…

The title is a line from an old Jimmy Buffet song that my husband latched onto years back and uses when either he or I complain of our ailments. The song is referencing a morning after a night of drinking however it seems to sum up well the whine we get into complaining about what hurts.

I’ve been thinking of that tune as I wince and moan with my aches and pains and especially my morning stiffness. The joys of getting younger I say a lot with a big grin on my face too. My mother in law years back said that getting older is not for wimps and I agree whole-heartedly all ready. I shutter to think what an extra 20 years will bring!

With the added life experience and hopefully wisdom we accumulate along the way in our lives, our poor body suffers through our mistakes and follies along with us. And, things do catch up to us whether we like it our not.

I’ve been a great one for holding my stress in my body and not for not realizing it until the muscles in my upper back and shoulders had enough and screamed out in pain for me to finally get it. Changing that is a work in process.

I am doing physical therapy for arthritis in my neck. I just recently learned that when I raise my arms above my head my right shoulder goes up in a way that it should not do and causes me physical distress. This has been a long time habit that I suspect likely dates back to an injury I had as a preteen doing hand stands and cartwheels in the yard. I recall having a shoulder that was out of place and going to a chiropractor to fix it.

To change my habit is going to take some doing. All ready I have learned how to hold my shoulders down and suck in my abdomen muscles to provide my upper torso better posture support that I need so as to not be in pain. And when I am tired and not tending well to my own needs my posture sinks along side my spirit.

I choose to make time for my physical therapy exercises daily and it takes about 30 minutes to do them all. I choose to pay attention to my posture throughout the day. I go to physical therapy making time for it twice a week. I’ve seen my primary care doctor about it several times over the last few years. More or less I choose to work on it every day all day long. This is a big commitment to carry out and not always simple for me to do. It is work.

This external body change process is really a good analogy for the internal change process too. To change how I deal with my emotional habits also is about work and practice and tending to it every day all day long also. I choose to see specialists and make time and pay attention to my thoughts and emotions and actions.

I’ve decided to give to me to live healthier. I am not always so good about doing that however. So when my head hurts and my feet stink it is my body’s way of getting my attention and helping me learn to shift back my focus on me and take better care as I am out of balance once again!

How do you know when it is time to shift focus back to you?