Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
The biopsy was July 12th. My follow up appointment was not until September 4th. Having been through many of these, we concluded that there was no diagnosis that would disrupt travel, so went ahead and planned. We would fly out on the 7th. After seeing the specialist. Turns out there was a concern with the […]
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We’ve decided, after five years of being homebodies, to try travelling again. He’s making reservations, while I make to-do lists and try to decide what to pack. Excited by the possibility, he draws up ambitious itineraries, and I’m feeling reality close in. What won’t fit into any suitcase, I gently remind him, is the promise […]
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Ideas follow me around like little children tugging on my pant leg, begging attention. (From an earlier post, Creativity is a Blessing) In the art room, canvases are primed and anxious for attention. My writing folder is full of works in progress. Two knitting projects wait for me to finish the current one. The impulse […]
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Ever the mountainPresence looming, commandingClimb! Climb! It beckons – My soul, magnetized, respondsPursuing new heights – compelled. When my mother lost her eyesight, I confessed that I would give up at that point, but here I am, into my second year of failing vision and still climbing. Oh, my loss is not as great as […]
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I seem to be stuck in an unhealthy cycle – I push myself beyond my limit and then crash. I’m driven by expectations I’ve set for myself and then taunted by guilt when I can’t fulfill them. There is no room in this toxicity to stop and appreciate accomplishments. Guilt is a crowpecking at my […]
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“Isolation is seldom listed as a symptom of chronic disease, but it certainly is a component. The need for human interaction is very real, in fact, psychologically, I would say it is essential. Making a conscientious effort to reach out to others, balancing social activity with limited energy, and valuing myself enough to keep the […]
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When health takes a hit, the road ahead becomes littered with unknowns. After months of waiting, I finally got in to see a neurologist. Actually, the call came on the very day I was about to tell my doctor to cancel the referral. For ten years I have lived with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Diagnosed, that is. […]
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This current state of restlessness seems to be adding to the body’s distress. I try to calm myself with art, but the emerging images, abstract and chaotic, only seem to magnify the mood. I never know when a piece is finished, so taking a photo allows me to step away and view my art objectively. […]
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February tests us with her gloom. I am tempted to hole away. Feel sorry for myself. Let others feel sorry for me. It’s not sustainable, however. The month is practically through, and pity is more smothering than the greyest winter’s day. I will wander down to the art room and punch a hole in the […]
Read MoreTook some time to re-evaluate where my energy goes, as my health has been deteriorating lately. The one thing Myalgic Encephalomyelitis teaches is that energy for anything (be it mental, emotional, or physical exertion) is limited. Trying on a stripped back existence in order to reset. That has meant limited screen time. “The idle mind is the devil’s […]
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One Woman's Quest II 