We all want to “fly.” I use to play soccer and hockey as a kid. We would talk about being “in the zone” and how it felt like we were flying. As parents, we want our children to “fly.” A diagnosis of T1D is a tremendous shock to life. Those of us who really understand it know that it has a lot to do with energy in the body. We need energy to fly. As a teenager I often felt “grounded” because of all that I had to account for in order to participate and compete. As I would find out later…..T1D would require me to become a marathon pilot. There was no landing the plane. I could crash! I often did not feel well. When I was too high I was tired and apathetic. When I was low I was uncertain and reactive. My behavior in these times affected everything around me. My mother was my co-pilot when I was young. I had others along the way willing to get in the cockpit with me but they could always leave. Not me. I needed to stay and “FLY THE PLANE.” Why? Why this experience?
It’s not easy. It doesn’t feel good. If God is all powerful, all good and all that then why this suffering? I think I know why. We live in a world that is a world of duality. Anything that arises can only do so with its’ polar opposite. Type 1 Diabetes is, in the physical world, a major challenge that causes much suffering. There are a lot of other things that cause just as much suffering and more. But T1D is definitely up there on the Opponent’s favorite physical curses. But, for every curse there is a blessing. Or, at least a lesson. And, perhaps, lessons are the highest blessings.
None of us knows the Big Picture. Maybe we got caught in traffic and missed our flight because, in the big picture, it saved our life. I don’t know. However, living with diabetes for over 42 years now has awakened me to a TRUTH that is apparent, at least to me. Every thing is made of energy. And if it manifests in the physical world then it has a deep root in the non physical. And we are here to find and to journey upon a quest back to Source. Ok. I might be getting a little metaphysical here, however, think about! If you are reading this you know what I mean when I use the metaphor of “Flying The Plane.” Food is the fuel, our body is the physical plane itself, checking our blood sugar levels is like checking the altimeter and insulin and the delivery of insulin is our acceleration system. If we are too high we need to step on the accelerator. If we are low we need to “take our foot off the gas pedal”. Can’t go too low our we could crash. Can’t stay too high for too long our else the environment gets too thick to stay in the air. There are a lot of things we need to account for that are our “turbulence.” Thinks like stress, hormone levels, being sick, quality of insulin, exercise, infusion sites. We learn as we go. There are three rules to flying a plane:
1, FLY THE PLANE
2. FLY THE PLANE
3. FLY THE PLANE
NAMASTE…….MICHAEL