Leaving the Pain Behind

Pain is exhausting. It can take over your thoughts and be all-consuming. Those with a chronic illness know this all too well, coping with the often debilitating pain, while trying to carry on with their lives.

These past few weeks this flare has tapped my energy and my creativity. Stringing a cognizant thought together can be difficult, let alone writing a post. Ever the optimist, I push on. I get up and go to work and smile despite the pain. I don’t want it to steal my joy too.

Hope is a beautiful thing. Hope that the pain and fatigue will ease up. Hope that a good night’s sleep will make the day seem a little brighter. The reality of fibromyalgia is that you just don’t know when the symptoms will subside. When my flares drag on, I try not to mourn my former, more active and capable self. This is my new normal. I cannot always accomplish all that I would like to do. And when it hurts to move, I follow my strategies for coping with a flare. I am human, not superhuman.

I have learned to pace myself. And while fibromyalgia may not be temporary, I find comfort in knowing that this pain and fatigue are. Confucius says, “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” So I move a little slower and find what works to get me past the flare.

Just. Don’t. Stop.

Leaving the Pain Behind

I can choose to let the pain 

Define me,

Confine me, 

Or outshine me.

Or I can move on,

And leave it behind me.

Here’s hoping you can leave your pain and fatigue behind, if even for a moment.

Cheers!

Cynthia