Making small, incremental changes can have a profound and lasting effect on your life.
What one thing can you be thankful for today? More than one? Bonus! This year has been a struggle for me to be thankful or grateful for much. Grief and pain can do that to a person. But I can always find at least one thing every day to make me smile.
“There is always something to be thankful for.”
Four simple steps to finding joy
Living with chronic condition like Fibromyalgia can be anything but joyful most days of the week. You are in pain, tired, and can be experiencing a myriad of other symptoms at any one time. And you often feel alone.
Then there’s the fact that you usually have to explain to people just what the heck Fibromyalgia Syndrome is and the fact that there is no good understanding of what causes it, thus there’s no cure as of yet. This alone can spin you into a life of social separation and loneliness.
It is widely believed that artist Frida Kahlo also would have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, if there had been that diagnosis during her time. Her art depicts chronic pain and her diaries reflect a life filled with physical and emotional pain. Yet, she continued to do what she loved, which was to paint, and toward the end of her life she turned her attention to capturing everyday existence.
“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me, too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.”
Frida Kahlo
What gets you going each day? Sure, the smell of coffee and that first sip of hot, black, magical elixir is great. But do you wake up each day excited and ready to hit the ground running, or is your morning filled with dread and trepidation, or perhaps pain and fear?
Asking people how they are just might make the difference in their day.
I wanted to post this earlier today, but as has been the case with me lately, life just got in the way today. But even though today has been designated as “World Hello Day,” it’s a concept that we should embrace daily.
Say hello to friends and strangers. Check on an elderly neighbor that lives alone. Smile at the lady checking you out at the grocery store. Take a minute to see how someone else is doing. Showing compassion and empathy will make our world a better place. Continue reading “World Hello Day”
My Inspired Fibro Life 