Rooting out Rot

These past few months have been about rooting out molding, rotting things... literally and figuratively.

• I had a plywood wall on the back of the converted carport section of my house that had been rotting for 2 or 3 year which I replaced last week. 
• Sections of soffit and fascia on the back of the house were rotting from faulty guttering and roofing, that I had replaced. 
• A 6' by 20' section of roof was rotting that I had replaced. 
• I washed the mold and dirt from bedroom miniblinds, it's hopelessly humid in Florida, and this winter was record-setting for warmth and humidity.
• I prepped and painted the one room in the house that never got painted since I moved here in 2006.
• I spent some sweaty strenuous last week raking piles of rotting leaves and digging up two years worth of weeds and thorny vines (that Smilax seems almost evil) in the back yard.
• I finally completed my 2013 taxes and mailed them in last week!
• I am replacing old warped cheapo ceiling fans
• I am replacing a corroded hard-to-open sliding glass door and window on the house! 
• I am scrubbing and re-covering seats of the dining room set.

Why such a pile of rotting projects? I was quite sick in late 2012 when the stress of trying to perform to par at work and my propensity to be super social wore me out and my weakened immune system crashed.  A friend recommended I check for Lyme with a specialist, which I did, and they found band 23 of the Western Blot positive which indicates antibodies for Borrelia, the Lyme bacteria. They found Epstein Barr virus and hypothyroid. I took a series of herbal tinctures (it was too late to take antibiotics and have it do anything) and meds for the nervous system as well as for busting up protein matrices (which is how Lyme defends itself from the immune system). I had acupuncture, went to doctors of Lyme, functional medicine, had laser light therapy, massage. I missed weeks of work and invoked Family Medical Leave after running out of sick time.

I believe my immune system broke down because of the stress of trying to fit myself into a job I didn't like, in an environment that didn't suit me. As I became more self-aware and intentional to make my life more about being heart-centered and communicative, the cold, individualistic, competitive atmosphere of academia just clashed with my energy system and the resistance created wracked my nervous system until I ended up in bed with extreme fatigue and burning aches in my hips and legs... I watched a ton of Bollywood movies during that time, and the series White Collar, I remember...

I finally quit the job in November of 2013 and traveled to India for four months from January to May of 2014. I went to Thailand and destinations in the US before returning to my home in Gainesville in August 2014. Then I was so focused on my internal process and experiencing some spiritual upheaval and depression. After the year of sickness, almost a year of travel, and months of focusing on my internal world, the house and paperwork had suffered some neglect and needed the attention I am giving it now, with a spirit of airing out, uncovering, being honest, cleaning and opening. I feel I can breathe better!