It started with a headache on day 10 of our Morocco trip. I felt exhausted like I’d never been exhausted before and had to go to lie down. We were supposed to be preparing to come back to Doha, but I just didn’t have the energy to go and get my pre- flight PCR test. No matter how much I rested, I was indescribably fatigued and dizzy. I couldn’t absorb anything I ate (use your imagination), this lasted all of 48 hours, but it completely drained me and needless to say we couldn’t take our flight home.

No matter how hard you try, you can’t control everything. From the moment I felt sick, I tried to ‘make it go away’. I put every single piece of logic I had into practice. I drank lots of water, I did breathing exercises and rested as much as I could. And yet, despite all of the effort, it didn’t work. I just had to go through it. In fact, I was so incredibly frustrated by the fact that my efforts weren’t getting results that my anxiety level heightened, no doubt making me feel worse. I was stressed knowing that if we didn’t take our flight, we would have to re-book our quarantine hotel and get back to Qatar later than planned. I learned that sometimes I’ve got to give up control of everything except my attitude and how I respond.

Another power reminder that our health is the most valuable (and fragile) gift we’ll ever receive. We are not invincible. I’ve spent much of my life attached to my health, and to my vision of myself as a healthy person (something I foolishly saw as my own accomplishment). Since returning to health, I’ve been thanking God every day for the experiences I’ve been able to have and fully enjoy because my body is working properly. Because my legs could walk around the medina and walk up the mountains of Morocco. Because my heart keeps pumping my blood. Because my digestive tract actually absorbs all those nutrients I put in. I don’t have control over any of that. It just happens. And I am so, so grateful for that magic.

I am now on day four of my hotel quarantine, which I will tell you all about next week. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, stay healthy, stay safe.

* The author is a consultant and coach. Instagram handle: @miss_shefa,  Website: missshefa.com