Tag Archives: Self-esteem

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Saith Me… Embrace the Hills

Many years ago a friend gave me some advice. He said that rather than dreading the hills I should embrace them. So after lacing on my running shoes, I began a chant. “I love hills, I love hills…”

Learning to love hills, or at least telling myself that I loved hills, greatly benefited me during my years of running. For some odd reason, I always ended up living in an area dominated by undulating terrain.

Hills come in all forms, and life’s undulating terrain challenge even the most fit among us. Sometimes the only thing that stands between success and failure is the mental chant, “I love hills.”

Hills are never fun, no matter what we tell ourselves. They require determination and perseverance. Sometimes they require great sacrifice and can even cause great pain. However, as we scale a hill, we become stronger, and when we stand at the summit, we become sure in the knowledge of our newly gained strength.

 

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Fiber Arts – It is Therapy

What other kind of therapy produces a final product in addition to providing health benefits?

What other therapy can be shared so readily with others without stigma or a doctor’s pre-activity approval?

So in a way, we are not only on the receiving end of therapeutic treatment but we are also becoming the therapist!

 

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One Bite at a Time – Adjusting a Classic Saying

For years I have used the old saying,

“How do you eat and elephant – one bite at a time.”

Recently I realized something was missing. In light of the disposable nature of a commercial world and the addiction of instant gratification, I feel the old saying needs to be adjusted.

So how do you eat and elephant?

One bite at a time, day after day, until the task is complete. 

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Saith Me… Peace

We should seek peace in all things, but sometimes we must speak our minds if we want to be instruments of change.

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Saith Me… Destiny

Destiny seems to be one part supernatural and one part self-determination. We may not always feel in control of where we are going in the universe, but we always have a choice as to what road we travel and what attitude to take when climbing the mountains in our path.

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Saith Me… An Interesting Question

Does an overtaxing, productive day followed by a sluggish, unproductive day equate life balance?

Living with fibromyalgia… the never ending challenge of finding balance continues.

 

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Saith Me… Truth and Compassion

Speaking the truth, particularly when the subject is a negative one, must be done with care. Life’s difficult lessons seldom need harsh reinforcement. When the truth is shared compassionately, there is a greater chance that a lesson will be learned rather than rejected out of self-protection and defense.

Those wise enough to both see the need to share the truth and share it compassionately are rare and are priceless beyond measure. For it takes great courage to be a person of truth and compassion in a world where the truth is used to harm and compassion is seen as weak.

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Pain Sucks, Life Doesn’t

Pain sucks, but life doesn’t. Whether it is physical or emotional, sometimes it is easy to forget that it is pain not life to which we want an end.

Chronic physical pain can lead to emotional pain and can be compounded by the pains of loss and loneliness. A bad day can turn into a bad week, then a bad month becomes a bad year. As with most creatures, the pain causes us to withdraw from those who seem unable to understand or assist. Caring people seem too busy or seem too happy to be bothered with the task of giving us a lift. Unlike the temporary pain most people experience, chronic pain never leaves. Sometimes it can diminish and give us a rare glimpse of relief, but then it can flare back up worse than ever. Some chronic pain sufferers face an ever shifting collection of pain that causes even the closest of loved ones to become frustrated.

Pain can seem all consuming and extremely defeating. Pain sucks, but life, despite the pain, contains joy and beauty. The dark lenses of pain may dim the light, but they do not eradicate it or cease it to exist. Daily life for people in pain requires a constant effort to see past the dark lenses, to see the light. Their efforts are helped when a loved one takes the time to lift the window shades and let in greater light.

As busy as we may be, as frustrated as we might get, we must work to lift the shades and bring in the light. Sometimes it is all that prevents the misery of pain from becoming the misery of life.

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Spinning: A Lesson in Quality not Quantity

I decided to participate in Spinzilla 2014. When I signed up I thought it would be a week full of fiber, documentaries, and miles of yarn produced by my fingers and the power of my feet. I set a lofty goal of competing against last years ‘most yarn spun’ winner; a goal that was manageable if I remained dedicated to the task.

I envisioned hours of listening to my TV enlighten me about historical people and events while I spun brightly colored clouds of wool into sleek strands of yarn. The only thing that would prevent me from making miles of wool yarn was my own battle with fatigue. I was enticed by the thought of competing to win, something I seldom allowed myself to do physically since the fibromyalgia made itself known. I knew this would be a challenge – my challenge. Years ago I held notions of competing to win, but running was the center of that dream. Life, some good and some bad, interfered with pursuing such notions. I learned to enjoy the ride, not the speed in which I made the journey.

Spinning wool into yarn has been my therapy, and my joy. My feet no longer travel miles of asphalt, but they do propel me through miles of yarn. Whereas other exercises exhaust me after minutes, spinning can go on for hours without creating the fibro fatigue or fog so common with exercise. When I push it, I do get stiff, but it is a stiffness from activity and not from the fibromyalgia. This in itself is a blessing.

The week of Spinzilla began not as I expected, rather as unexpected as I could have imagined. A family emergency cost me most of the first day. Unexpected company, delightful company but unexpected, took up most of the third day, and fatigue coupled with a personal commitment dominated the fifth day. It was on that day that I finally decided that quality time with friends and family was more important than the miles of yarn I could produce. It was not a great epiphany, not earthshattering or new, but a simple quiet reminder that more fun could be had by enjoying the ride than in competing for a prize. With this renewed commitment to quality in life, I decided to join a group of spinners at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) for a massive spin-in demonstration on the seventh and final day of Spinzilla.

Typically I avoid crowds, particularly crowds where socialization is expected. Challenging myself to spin miles of yarn is easy compared to the challenge of overcoming a deep feeling of social fear and awkwardness, a fear which has increased rather than decreased with age and accomplishment. My husband, a.k.a. my spinning pit crew for an event that will require the transport of a wheel and other assorted supplies, encouraged me to embark on this challenge. Not much of a social butterfly himself but not from anxiety, rather by choice, my husband gently persuaded me to try something new; something I longed to do but from which I held myself back. He reminded me that my college’s moto, and something I try to live by, is Vita Abundantior, life more abundant.

There is little I can do to adjust the quantity of life which I get to live, but there are endless ways in which I can increase the quality of that time. All I have to do is make an effort and embrace the opportunities presented on my journey. The drive time and Spinzilla at the DAM will not aid me in the accumulation of yarn miles, but it will add quality to my life, and despite my anxieties I suspect I will have loads of fun.

Spinzilla 2014

 

 

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FYI: I cannot view, nor do I endorse any of the ads that are shown on my blog.