Posted by Merm on 1/1/2009, 8:54 am, in reply to "NEW YEARS MESSAGE"
156.34.197.108
As Christmas approaches, it becomes harder and harder for people suffering from chronic pain to get themselves into a joyous holiday spirit. In our hearts, we know and understand that we are celebrating the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ, but always in the background, as our tortured bodies groan and sigh with the horrible advent of chronic pain attacking our bodies, we cannot help but feel a little down, and a little depressed.
While people all over the world in Christian communities are celebrating Christmas with parties, good food, gifts, music and an uplifted spirit of happiness, we chronic pain sufferers are doing our best to paste a smile on our faces, while inwardly cringing and weeping from the awful all encompasing pain.
Indeed, the holidays have changed for us since we were children and most of us oblivious to pain and illness.
Often we wonder what on earth we did to have this happen to us, how did we get into the wrong line, and how much worse is it going to get for us.
Some would tell us that the holiday spirit is about giving and so it is, but it is also about sharing, compassion, love and understanding.
While people are starving in the streets, we try to reach out with donations of food to help them, while pets are being mistreated or abandoned we try to reach out with donations to pet shelters or indeed, take in a special pet of our own, and we above all pray for Peace on Earth Good Will Towards All Mankind.
In saying this, it would behoove those who enjoy and reap the benefits of good health and freedom from pain, to try to give, as a gift to the sufferers, the special present of understanding, helpfulness, compassion, love and to bring friendship into the inform as a beacon of light in their lives. This would mean much more than a gift. it is the true gift of love.
After all, the sufferers did not intentionally ask for pain and illness.
They did not do anything naughty to bring it on. They are amongst the people who have been chosen to bear this burden with fortitude, bravery, still with a smile of love on their faces, always reaching out to the other person more unfortunate than themselves, for we can always find somebody else in more pain, who is sicker, going through chemo, perhaps even dying, and then we can look our beautifu Christmas trees in the eye and realize that in many ways we are still fortunate and still enjoy God's true blessings.
God will NOT give us anything that we cannot handle.
We go through bouts of thinking we cannot bear another ache, pain or even a twinge, another massive migraine, another attack of arthritis, a flare up of lupus, a Chrones disease flare up, and so on. We cannot even contemplate thinking about another flare because at this time of year and in the colder months, all the flares seem to drift into each other, with no beginning and no end. Flares used to come and go, with precipitating factors, but I have noticed that many of my friends are no longer FLARING, but rather LIVING THE ONGOING FLARE.
There is a HUGE difference in the capacity for endurance in this case.
WE used to have respite between flares. Now many of us do not.
We cruise along at high speed in the speedway of severe chronic pain, and we don't even know where the finish line is or where it will be.
In saying this, we can and must be grateful for our faith, our friends, our families and caregivers, the ones who really care about us and demonstrate that they do care.
What would we do without the true friendships we have made on Wellness Train, where all train members KNOW and are COGNIZANT of what we are talking about or referring to when we talk about pain and illness?
By the same token, what would we do without the laughter we share, the good and the fun times which lighten our burdens of pain and illness and bring illumination into an otherwise gray sullen sky of life?
I think there is a balance to be had here.
We have to learn to be proactive and to do everything we can do to help ourselves first and foremost as nobody can do it for us.
WE must not think of using the words I CANNOT DO IT, I JUST CANNOT MANAGE THIS, OR I COULD NEVER DO THIS, with this kind of attitude it may be why you are in the rut in the first place. One has to develop a plan to encourage your body back to a semblence of good health, lest going down the pipe just introduces and encourages yet another illness.
Remember the story about the little train?
I THINK I CAN
I THINK I CAN
I KNOW I CAN!!!
Once our immune systems are compromised, well we are open for other illnesses to step in and take their place in our suffering bodies.
So it makes good sense to understand that we have to be the leaders in our treatment.
We cannot or should not rely on MEDICATION to heal us because it is not going to happen, we can however, be the best that we can be if we would only take the initiative and try to help ourselves.
My wish for you all this year and in the coming years is to understand the implications of:
Diet and how it pertains to pain and illness not to mention overweight
Exercise, how important it is to do CARDIAC exercise at a minimum of four times weekly, starting small but building up and up and up.
IT CAN BE DONE AND MUST BE DONE if you want to retain any form of mobility and getting along on your own.
It comes back to what you want for your life.
If your pain is so bad you cannot stand it, then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. If you are overweight and have complicatons from this such as diabetes, heart problems, asthma and breathing problems etc, then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Rome was not built in a day, but we are NOT building a city. We are managing our own bodies, who house our souls and who is the vehicle that will guide us through life.
That is HOW important it is to maintain your body. You would not drive a car without careful maintenance would you?
Housekeeping of the spirit and soul is also just as important.
Cleaning out the negative files in your mental hard drive is something that should be done at the end of every year, if not every season. Cluttering up your mind with negativity will not help you to smooth the way to an easier and better lifestyle. Release all the negativity, forgive, forget and move into the New Year with an empty file cabinet, free of negative feelings and memories. Keeping the good ones is a given.
Using self discipline and learning about your problems will help. Nothing will cure you.
We already know this however, you KNOW that sweets, caffeine, lack of exercise, all contribute to CHRONIC PAIN AND ILLNESS. So as this is a factual, why would you not endeavour to correct this to the best of your ability?
You dont have to turn into a sports jock.
But if you need to lose weight, there are a few simple rules
Eat healthy foods
Keep your meal portions SMALL
Do not eat three meals a day if you do not exercise, YOU DO NOT NEED IT. You only fill a gas tank in a car when you USE UP THE ENERGY.
Leave snacks off your grocery list.
Do not purchase pork or red meats, forget gravy, potatoes, breads in particular.
If you MUST eat bread, which is UNHEALTHY for people especially with arthritis and Fibromyalgia, then go for the Weight Watchers pita breads, and the english muffins.
Have half an english muffin weight watchers for breakfast with a smidgen of "cannot believe its not butter: " An apple or an organge and your one cup of java. That should suffice.
Lunch should just be a salad or a bowl of progresso soup
Supper should be something like green beans, baked turkey or chicken, skin off, no gravy and NO potatoes.
If you couple this with daily exercise and cardio three or four times a week, YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT.
That in turn will bring down your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, breathing problems etc etc etc.
The list goes on an on and this is not heresay, any responsible doctor will tell anybody overweight TO LOSE WEIGHT because of the terrible reprocussions. A
dmit it, we have enough on our plate, LET US NOT ADD MORE TO THE EQUATION and expect not to get sicker.
YOU are the one responsible for your own body. Nobody can do this for you.
Take time to meditate, to pray and to find a quiet spot of your own daily and to soothe and nourish your soul. Whatever suits you.
Take the time to also strech those aching muscles and tissues, in the morning, in the mid afternoon and at night.
Try to develop a sleep pattern. After fifty years of age you do NOT require as much sleep as say a teenager or twenty year old. By t he same token, you do not need as much food either.
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