Tip #418 Wise Words Wednesday; No Stick in the Mud

     I've always wondered how the phrase (he/she is) "a stick in the mud" came to be. If you look it up on online dictionaries, being a stick in the muck can mean anything from being unimaginative to being boring, unimportant, a coloured blimp (seriously?), and more. Generally speaking though, I think we can agree that being a figurative stick in the mud does not seem to be a good thing - and for that matter to be literally stuck in the mud doesn't seem all that appetizing either. So, most people avoid mud. They don't want their vehicles stuck in it, their dogs to track it in, and people really really don't like to be called anything in the mud, be it a stick or anything else for that matter!
     In a thousand ways, severe illness/trauma or the caregiving thereof can feel a whole lot like being stuck in the mud. It feels like the body is immersed in it; movement is slower, requiring help to get out of it is a big probability, it's weight can feel oppressive, and it's icky (for a lack of a better word), and, that's over and above all of the afore mentioned characteristics of mud above. 
     But you know what? Mud is not always the worst thing in the world. Some people actually pay to soak in specific types of mud. They also do mud facials, and other mud related spa treatments. Kids make hamburger patties out of mud for outside tea/BBQ parties. Pigs love to roll in it, kids like to stand in it when it's all squishy after a rain, and, apparently, there are those that will wrestle in it:). 


Mud. Not entirely good, not entirely bad. It just is what it is. 


The interesting part to me is the whole spa angle of it - not that I've ever been to one. But here's the thing: you want opulence? Soak in med. Who thought that was a good idea in the beginning of it all? Hey Marcy, you're skin looks raw…. maybe we should try slathering your face in mud, let it dry, and see how it feels after that. Sounds logical doesn't it? 
The point? Mud can serve a purpose. Not everyone wants to take the mud option or experience that particular purpose, but it's abilities to heal/help skin is not dependent on you believing it's good for you - it just is (usually anyway).


 I think life's mud serves a purpose too. Recently, a woman I greatly respect on my medical team, Ms. Mc gave me some encouraging words. 

"No mud, no lotus" ~ Thich Nhat Hahn  

Ms. Mc said that he (Thich Nhat Hahn) goes on to explain, "There is the mud, and there is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus."

Again, you don't have to like being in the mud - that whole oppressive ickiness feeling that mud can give you doesn't have to be fun in order to produce beautiful things. And I'm not saying that you are experiencing some twisted sick joke just so you can become a lotus. But, mud grows the lotus. So, don't forget to enjoy the lotus - and to appreciate the mud that brought it to you. And if you can, when you're in the middle of the mud, remember there's a lotus to look forward to. They're quite beautiful... and these blue ones? They symbolize victory. 

  Happy Victories!