Zen And The Art Of Diabetes, Part 3: Will We Breathe Easier?

Oftentimes, in the wake of shock from a surprising blood sugar, I have no answers for why the number isn’t where I desire it. Maybe I’ll spend 30 seconds playing detective, sifting for causes over the last few hours or days (or minutes). My detective work, on occasion, will yield an answer, like Oh yeah, I forgot to bolus for lunch today (somehow, yes, this still happens). But, for the most part, either from subconscious repression or the nature of the diabetes beast, no clear answer shows up. Just take insulin or eat a snack, then move on.

Some of you, probably strong disciples of the scientific method, are saying, But there’s always a cause! Indeed, there is most likely a cause. Let’s go one step further though: what was the intention behind the unknown cause?  Instead of dealing with the troubleshooting after the problem is present, what if we cut the problem off at the roots?

I got to thinking about this after listening to a podcast by Gil Fronsal inside the Audio Dharma Podcast. During his talk on Being Your Own Teacher, he suggested asking this question as you analyze an upcoming decision, “Will it support you breathing easier in the future?” By asking the question, the goal is to look inside to see if the motivation is greed, comfort, hate, or compassion.

Speaking for myself, I know that I breathe easier when my blood sugar is in balance. Tapping into the beauty of life is just a little easier. With that knowing, it can set the standard for my decision making, especially when it comes to correcting a low, bolusing for a high, or adding sugar to my coffee. By just looking past my basic urges and thoughts right in the moment, perhaps I promote more times of breathing easier… and less troubleshooting.