Do you ever stop and think how many words we speak in one day, not to mention every second, minute and hour? Now I am not talking about texting, facebook or twitter, I mean physically speak with our mouths. I am not sure about the number, but I can guess it is pretty tremendous.
Having the ability to talk is something that some of us might take for granted. Now, I don’t mean that in a negative way. What I mean is that our voice is always there and we don’t think that maybe one day it will be gone. Silence can hit and then what? None of us have control on circumstances of daily life, whether they be negative or positive. Although we like to think that we have everything taken care of and things are just as they are supposed to be.
But do we ever think how grateful we are to be able to talk, sing, shout, or hum a tune? I know that I never have even thought about being grateful for this voice. Just recently, I have been afflicted with a cold, flu, virus, whatever label you wish to put on it.
It started out as a simple runny nose, then the sore throat came crashing in, and a week later I had no voice (laryngitis)! Now, I found this odd because I have not been sick in a long time and try to keep my immune system in shape. So, I had to assume that some little sneaky germ said, “I am gonna get ya”, and that is exactly what happened.
At first, I was not worried because in my mind I had it all planned out that this would be gone in a few days. (Trying to be in control). That was the wrong way to approach this particular situation. It did not occur to me until three days later that my voice was gone and it was telling me to slow down and rest up until I was better.
This was a hard pill to swallow, being that my current source of income was to answer phones and talk to customers in person.
I started to research to find a quick cure all, again trying to control or in a better word, “divide and conquer the germ.” What I found out was that laryngitis is an infection of the larynx and you need to rest your vocal cords, which means no talking. Also whispering is worse for you, because you are putting a strain on your larynx.(A tip that was new to me, but helpful). A home remedy you can use to fight infection is vinegar and water( in equal parts) and gargle with it. Also chewing on garlic. If there is mucus build up, you can eat oranges, or anything acidic.
I have to tell you, I tried all of these and they do work! The other thing I found was that cough drops make laryngitis worse. I didn’t believe it either, but it actually made my throat more painful and the extent of my hoarseness increased.
Today is the fourth day and my voice is coming back and I am thankful and have realized that the little things matter.
So, if you happen to lose your voice, don’t stress about it or get angry. Take time to slow down and marvel at the beauty all around you that maybe you don’t have time for in your everyday routine.
Peace, love and light!
Namaste
