Hello my Zebras and Spoonies! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today, I’m glad that you are here. Today I want to talk about the strange idea that suffering builds character and makes us better people. Because in my experience that has not been the case.
Continue reading “Suffering Builds Character”
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
Continue reading “What does hope mean to you?”I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.
BY EMILY DICKINSON
The blood of the moon falls but rare.
And from it a suffering man can never know.
A herald of a storm to come.
A time of turbulence and despair.
But know that this moon,
like all others shall wane.
And the next shall wax.
Hello fellow zebras and spoonies. It’s time for another talk about grief. Yup, I talk about this topic a lot. Why is that? Well, because grief is a fundamental part of the human condition and it is something that we aren’t very good at dealing with. I believe that by having better conversations about our suffering and grief, we can become better at coping and gain resilience.
Continue reading “Grieving the Self”There is a truth that comes with having chronic illness that isn’t often talked about: we get rejected. This rejection comes in many ways. We are told that we are not good enough, not trying hard enough or we are compared to other people. We hear phrases like “Why can’t you be like your sister?” We loose friends because they don’t understand our daily struggles and we don’t always know how to talk about them.
Continue reading “REJECTION SENSITIVE DYSPHORIA”Suffering is a universal human experience. Humans suffer whenever they are denied something that they desire. The degree of the suffering is directly correlated to the degree of the desire.
Why is this important?
Continue reading “Suffering”
When we talk about “nothing lasts forever” people generally start hearing the song “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas playing in their heads. Yes, this idea does mean that we will not last forever. We are mortal. But there is a lot to this that is very powerful if you let it be.
Continue reading “Finding Comfort in Impermanence”I have recently been more open about my diagnosis of EDS and have been talking about it with more people. Not that I was ever trying to hide it, but I personally have been more educated on it and am learning more all the time. This makes it much easier to have those conversations. One question that I have been getting frequently is some variation on “How do you cope with the losses that your chronic illness brings?” I find this to be a surprising and strange question. I’ve also struggled to answer it. But here goes!
Continue reading “Coping with Chronic Illness”
Zebra Pig 