The Changing Scenery of Healing

Today I took one of my many strengthening walks as part of my recovery from knee replacement surgery.

As I walked, I started to feel sorry for myself and wondered if I would ever fully get back to normal. Would I dance again? Sit cross-legged on the floor? Do yoga on the beach? So many small things that I never thought twice about before surgery suddenly felt uncertain.

That reaction reminded me of something I taught many times during my corporate career. Ken Blanchard described Seven Dynamics of Change that people experience whenever change enters their lives or organizations. One of the earliest dynamics is this and it is what I felt today:

People initially focus on what they have to give up.

The seven dynamics include:

• People feel awkward, ill-at-ease, and self-conscious
• People initially focus on what they have to give up
• People feel alone, even if others are experiencing the same change
• People can handle only so much change at once
• People are at different levels of readiness for change
• People worry they don’t have enough resources
• When pressure is removed, people may revert to old behaviors

As I walked, I realized how naturally these dynamics apply to something as personal as healing from surgery.

Later, when I returned home, I opened my daily meditation book, Journey to the Heart by Melody Beattie, and turned to the entry for March 11.

The message on the page could not have been more perfect for the moment:

“Look at how quickly the scenery changes. Learn to enjoy the view.”

Healing, like life, is a journey. The scenery shifts constantly — discomfort, progress, doubt, strength, patience, hope.

Sometimes the hardest part is remembering that the view will change again.