Thursday, February 12, 2009

Sick! Sick! Sick!


He who desires, but acts not, breeds pestilence.
William Blake

...sickness will surely take the mind where minds can’t usually go...
Pete Townshend

...it should say something about how crappy I’ve been feeling that I’ve barely been able to do my morning yoga thing this week—this despite the fact that I generally put less time into it than most people spend in the bathroom first thing in the morning—this despite my apparent reputation as the on-line yogamaster supreme—really: people keep e-mailing me at this blog to ask about yoga—though I stress that I’m still working on doing basic asanas without hurting myself...and thus am not about to try and teach anybody else....

...though not a doctor of medicine, I nonetheless try to follow that part of the Hippocratic Oath...the only part I know, in fact...that says first, do no harm...which according to a google search I just did, isn’t even in the Hippocratic Oath...so it’s all good...

I have a good friend I call...affectionately...the foul evil bringer of pestilence...that’s because I believe, on good, solid evidence, that she was responsible for passing on to me the two worst colds or flus I’ve suffered in recent years...and, actually, while she was across the country when I contracted this one, in L.A., city of the fallen angels, I did meet up with her husband for lunch in South Philly on Saturday...

...anyway, the illness—apparently a flu bug of some kind—seems to have passed, leaving only the slightest rusty residue of the red nail that was lodged in my forehead for three or four days...and so life begins again...like I’ve just come back from a really crummy vacation...though at least I didn’t have to pay for airfare or hotels...sickness is the crappy vacation you experience in the discomfort of your very own home....

...and, actually, it does have some of the advantages of a trip away...even a crappy one...in terms of knocking a person out of the standard routine, and thereby providing a view of it from somewhat on the outside, allowing one to evaluate it from the standpoint of not-quite-in-it...ask if it’s really a horse anybody’d wanna climb back onto...or if changes need to be made...yeah, I know I’m mixing metaphors...like I said, I’ve still got some lingering symptoms, including being a good bit stupider than usual...so I’ll blame it on that...and wish good health to everybody reading....

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sambucol Immune Defense Forumula is a good one, And so is Umcka is another good one. Get the alcohol free extract, that one tastes better.

Both are good for viral infections that affect the respiratory system.

And your friend--the human gold fish, she needs to wash her hands more and boost her immune system too.

Anonymous said...

You do still sound delerious, perhaps you should go back to bed?

Keep getting better, coz I prefer your brand of craziness when you're somewhat more sound of mind! ;)

Looking to the Stars said...

Glad your feeling better, keep the vit C and fluids flowing.

Gabby said...

Umcka worked for me, too. I had lungs that felt like Brillo pads and a cough that sprained every muscle in my back...and was amazingly in the pink after three days. But, sleep......sleep....sleep...

The Buddhist Conservative said...

Your metaphoric mix appears to be returning to normal quickly!

I don't think I have ever seen the flu described with such enthusiasm.

Glad your feeling better since reading your blog is, for me, yoga for the mind.

jb said...

Dr. Jay, sorry to hear that you felt so shitty. I hope that the virus from L.A. is going back to the City of Fallen Angels and I agree that she should wash her hands more often....this is what my mother would say also. I hope everything else is going good with you.

I'm slowly on the road to recovery. Started to do my morning yoga slowly because I'm still feeling slightly dizzy and dazed but it will all be good.

Take Good Care
JB

Anonymous said...

Special Note: I don't usually comment on my own blog, but really do need to mention that the friend mentioned in this post has excellent hygiene, in fact better than mine--she was completely horrified when I invoked the "thirty second rule" in a restaurant once...and, as I was already a bit concerned she was gonna kill me if she reads this post, even though she likes the "foul evil bringer of pestilence" nickname, now I KNOW she's going to if she reads some of these comments. So please........

MYM said...

god, you're such a man. It's a cold. A. Cold.

Anonymous said...

Hope you are feeling tip top again soon in spite of what way up your yoga postion places you in.

Lydia said...

Well, as my relatives in Minnesota are wont to say about icky sick things, "Ish!"

A blogging friend who lives in NYC was out in Portland, OR, visiting family from Dec. to early Feb. I was supposed to meet her at Powell's Bookstore, but she posted how terribly ill all her NW family members were, then her husband was, and finally she herself. I felt guilty for not touching base with her but good god I'm trying to stay healthy this winter because the flu I had last year was enough for a decade.

Feel better. And send your friend a valentine..... or order her a book from Powell's to make peace.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm going to take the side of the "evil bringer" here just to help you out of any hot water. I see a few references to hand-washing on her part, but NONE on yours. So stop touching yourself! ...or at least wash your hands first! (And I know how that sounds...'twas intentional!) :o):o):o)

p.s. hope you're feeling good real soon!

achoiceofweapons said...

Feel better dude! Listen to something fun like Mingus!
Jaycee

RB said...

I like the vacation idea. I have a cold and refuse to leave work because the only thing to me that's worse than being sick is being sick and alone.

My office mates LOVE me.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I do not wish to create problems between you and the Angel of Pestilence.

Perhaps it isn't her individual personal hygeine that is the issue, but perhaps the people she is in contact with.

School Teachers, medical personnel, any-hospital worker, daycare workers, or first responders ahd greeters at stores all have to be in the front of sick people who are neither hygeinic or polite.

So she could just be a carrier--hence human gold fish. When we kept tropical fish, we learned that gold fish are very healthy, but like an entire aquatic race of Typhoid Marys.

roentare said...

I actually like dark arts like this one. Very special painting and full of story!

Lana Gramlich said...

Sorry you weren't feeling well (especially the flu--that can be downright NASTY!) Hope you're much better now.