Right now,
Your body is doing something very wise,
Even if it doesn't feel that way.
It is fighting.
It is repairing.
It is asking for your cooperation and not your judgment.
Having COVID can bring discomfort,
Fear,
Perhaps frustration,
Boredom,
And a deep sense of interruption.
Life pauses in a way we did not choose.
Plans dissolve.
Energy disappears.
The mind wonder and wants answers.
How long will this last?
Why me?
When can I go back to normal?
Acceptance doesn't mean liking what is happening.
It does not mean pretending that this is fine.
Acceptance simply means meeting reality as it is without adding another layer of struggle on top of the pain.
For a moment,
See if you can stop arguing with your body.
Notice where you're holding resistance.
Perhaps in the jaw,
The shoulders,
The breath.
Resistance sounds like I should be better by now.
I hate this.
This isn't fair.
Gently,
Kindly,
You might say to yourself,
This is what is happening right now.
Not forever.
Not who I am.
Just now.
Just for the moment.
When illness arrives,
We are forced into a smaller world.
A bed,
A couch,
A single room.
The breath.
The moment.
And while this can feel confining,
It can also be clarifying if we let it.
Life narrows to essentials.
Rest.
Water.
Warmth.
Patience.
Acceptance asks us to stop pushing the river and let ourselves float for a while.
Your worth does not decrease because you are unproductive.
You do not need to earn rest.
You do not need to recover on a schedule that impresses anyone.
Notice the breath as it is today,
Not how it should be.
Shallow or deep.
Slow or uneven.
Let it be imperfect.
Let you,
Yourself,
Be imperfect.
You might place a hand on your chest or belly and acknowledge,
This is hard,
And then add,
And I am allowed to be here exactly as I am.
Acceptance also means allowing emotions to move through you.
You may feel lonely,
Scared,
Irritated,
Sad.
None of these feelings are wrong.
They are messengers,
Not mistakes.
Let them rise and fall without turning them into a story about failure or weakness.
This illness is not a personal flaw.
It's not a punishment.
No,
It's a human experience.
And like all experience,
It will change.
It will pass.
For now,
Acceptance invites you to listen instead of push.
To soften instead of tense.
To trust that healing doesn't require force.
It only requires time.
If the mind races ahead,
Gently bring it back to this moment.
Right now,
You are breathing.
You are alive.
Right now,
You are doing enough by simply allowing your body to heal.
And you might close with a quiet inner phrase.
I can rest here.
I can meet this moment with kindness.
I do not need to be anywhere else.
Acceptance isn't giving up.
It's just giving yourself permission to heal.
