A Pain in the Neck or an Opportunity to Stop and Smell the Flowers

 

After four days of having a pain at the base of my skull that started spasming around the side of my face and down into my neck, I decided to go to the doctor. The diagnosis was occipital neuralgia which seemed to have been triggered by sitting and driving so many miles. I also know that I spent the week before that hunched over my laptop, getting ready for my weekend retreat. The occipital nerve that is at the base of the skull became inflamed and caused a painful kind of headache. 

I've been on a steroid to reduce the inflammation and muscle relaxers to help ease the knots in my shoulders. After 2 days of this, the spasming has stopped even though I still have a bit of pain.

I had so many plans for this week that went awry and that can often cause me to get discouraged. However, I decided that it was a good time to just rest and be thankful that there was nothing pressing happening. I even took a two hour nap yesterday!

Rather than get discouraged, I decided it was a good time to stop, rest and realize that there will be time when I'm feeling better to get everything done. The activity will always be waiting and so I'll take this opportunity to stay still.

My pain in the neck has turned into an opportunity to stop and smell the flowers. Of course, it's October and there really are no flowers to smell and I can't smell anyway. But you get the point! 😀

Have a wonderful weekend!