Tag Archives: inspiration

Serenity in the Challenge and the Chaos

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“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” ― Helen Keller

Whew – life can get chaotic sometimes, can’t it? I think of my own life right now – talk about chaos! Sometimes I am exhausted just thinking about it: a new marriage; long-term things coming to a head at work; moving an entire household; taking on a new cause and awareness raising initiative; raising teenagers; and staying on top of my health management. Keeping balance through our chaotic times can be a challenge in itself.

Life can be full of challenges in periods of chaos. And – sometimes challenges can bring us adventure – and sometimes that very adventure brings us serenity and inner peace.

Even with all the “busy-ness”, I have been feeling more “me” than ever before in my life. Part of it is that I married my life partner, BFF, and soul mate. Part of it is that I am “able”, despite my health constraints. But a big part of it has been facing a huge challenge and taking a little slice of “me” back from the constraints of my chronic illness – in this case, by getting back into the water.

Synchronized swimming is back in my life – and, boy oh boy, did I ever miss it and hadn’t even realized it! I am a water baby at the core – always have been. I am never more relaxed mentally, spiritually, and emotionally than when I am in or near water. My personal challenge is to be fully active and even competing in the Masters Synchro world by my 50th birthday. That is not that far off. The biggest challenge was getting back in the water itself – knowing that a seizure in the water is a dangerous thing.

You see, I want to raise awareness for the Stigma against Seizure Disorders as I travel this journey I call my life. (Look for a facebook page down the road. Yup – more to keep me busy and challenged!) Raising awareness means being transparent to a large degree. That is, in and of itself, a challenge. It means disclosing (repeatedly) that I have a seizure disorder – but that I don’t let it stop me from living my life to its fullest potential. It means telling each lifeguard what I need them to watch for and do. It means making sure that my coach knows what my “deal” is – and making sure she is comfortable with it. It means facing the fear every day. It means working every day to keep motivated, no matter what.

But these very challenges are the fuel that fire my inner peace. Knowing I may help just one person by sharing my experiences fuels that fire, and brings me a sense of serenity. Knowing that I have the courage to face a fear and break the social assumptions by getting back into the water, despite all the warnings about the dangers – that brings me a sense of serenity and inner peace. (Being underwater in the cool blue – that alone brings me serenity.) That’s what works for me. That, currently, is my daring adventure!

Finding serenity and inner peace – that is a personal journey, and each individual defines that for themselves. Serenity and peace in the challenge and chaos – I firmly believe it can be found…if you allow yourself to see it and recognise it. What does it look like for you?

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled.  For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” ~ unknown

Namaste

Carolyne

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Never Say Never…

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“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”― Ernest Hemingway

Have you ever found yourself saying “I am never going to …something, something …again!” And you really meant it?

I found myself saying that about marriage and pursuing relationships, and that “never” sentiment was reinforced over the last years as my health issues evolved and became more “dramatic”. You know the saying “Once bitten, twice shy”…well, that was definitely me – especially when it came to being able to trust someone to understand or be able to handle life in the chronic illness lane with me. Yet I got married just this month…after almost a decade of saying (and meaning) “Never again!” And I did so with full trust and deep happiness. My husband is the kindest, gentlest, most patient and loving man I have ever known. Trust is instinctual for us together – he’s got my back, and I have his – no matter what comes down the road we are traveling together. I trust him with every fiber of my being.

“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”― Maya Angelou

Trust. It’s a funny thing – trust. It’s just a small 5 letter word…yet it is such a huge deal. And trusting yourself – that’s huge, too. One thing I have noticed over the years of dealing with chronic illness is that as my illness evolved, my trust in my own abilities became shakier. My ability to trust my own body to “have my back”, so to speak, goes through ups and downs – especially since my seizures have no known trigger and have been so violent. Some days I can’t trust my brain to function the way I need due to fatigue and brain fog. Other days, I am firing on all cylinders and can trust my abilities to take me to the moon, if needed.

Chronic illness can lead to various forms of distrust and mistrust – distrust of our own bodies to carry us through our daily lives; mistrust of our professional circles due to worries of illness stigma or biases; uncertainty about the future of relationships and the ability for family and friends to cope with the fallout of chronic illness over time. This makes it challenging to go about daily life – and some days can be much more challenging than others. But the thing is, we have to find a way to come to terms with changes in our lifestyles and bodies – so we have to trust our bodies and trust ourselves to handle whatever develops. We have to trust our friends and families to be there with us, to be patient with us, to try to understand us and what we are going through. We have to take the risk to trust.

“Mistrust makes life difficult. Trust makes it risky.” ~Mason Cooley

From where I am sitting right now – I gotta say: Never is a really long time – and trust is always worth the risk.

Namaste

Carolyne

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Forging New Ground and Setting Goals

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“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’
You must do the thing you think you cannot do. ” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Well, I am back! Didja miss me?

I took some time off from my busy-ness to rest for the past few weeks over the summer, as the heat was taking a toll on my health by flaring up MS symptoms (even my old one of MS Hugs – not fun). The rest was well worth it – mentally, physically and emotionally – though I can’t really say I was not busy!

The busy-ness seemed to morph somewhat, rather than disappear. Isn’t it amazing how you can take something of you to-do list, and other things magically appear to take the place of the things you removed! Case in point: My upcoming next month or so I will hopefully be moving into a new home that we offered on, getting married, working full-time and balancing life while working on some large projects at the office, and also trying to forge some new ground.

What do I mean “forge some new ground”? Well…Having the time to “rest’ (HAHAHAHAH!) allowed me to look inside and prioritize what I needed to manage most – including wrapping up old issues that I had pushed to the back-burner to “deal with” later. One of those issues was my fear of getting back in the water…fear created by my history of seizures.

You see, sometimes living with chronic illness can feel emotionally like someone is slowly chipping away at you – who you are, what you can do, what freedoms you can still enjoy, and so on. For me, the seizures came with a fear of being in the water…because that is a very risky place to be during a seizure. I had stopped taking baths (don’t worry – I do shower :) ; I had stopped my competitive swimming (mainly because of the virtigo); I had given in my driver’s liscense which effectively reduced my freedom. And I felt like a vital piece of me had been suffocated by my seizure disorder with all these little pieces going down. Combine that with the stigma against seizures that I experiences in the spring…well, if any of you follow me regularly, you know that that is a trigger for me to “Face the Fear” and make a change.

So – what did I do? I set myself a  big goal and a cause: I will be swimming competitively again by my 50th birthday and raising awareness of stigma against Seizure Disorders.

I have joined the local Masters Synchronized Swimming team. I have roughly  2 years until I turn 50 (fifty) years old – and I plan to be in the water, doing a synchronized swimming routine competitively, and showing people that no matter what, seizures or no – it CAN be done. (And – also to show that being 50 years old or over does not means everthing stops…one can still be at the top of their game. Though maybe the games rules are a bit different?)

Facing my first fear was to get back in the water. And I did! I got back in, and my ol’ body remembered how to do the synchro figures – though I gotta say, my “ballast” feels alot different than when I was 17 years old and competing! I completed my first 90 minute training with no problems (other than recognizing that I haven’t used certain muscles in a LONG time…and I have a lot of work to do! Thank God for yoga – it will be my rock for this in many ways – including core and flexibility!)

How do I feel after my first session in the water? Physically – exhausted! But emotionally and mentally? Fantastic. Determined. Courageous. Powerful. I faced a fear – the fear of getting back in the water – and did it anyway!

Does it cure my MS or my seizures? Heck no! But it does increase my confidence in my own ability to create and live my life in the way I see fit, no matter what my illness throws at me!

“Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.”~ Bill Cosby
So – what’s your goal? Is it big? Small? It really doesn’t matter – it just needs to fit YOU! (Size is just a matter of perspective, anyway, ain’t it?)
Namaste
Carolyne
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On My Mat: Life’s Journey is Not about a River in Egypt

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Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you.  Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch it to be sure.  ~Murphy’s Law

I have traveled the river of denial (get it..de-Nile…ok, bad joke) a few times on my journey through life. One of the reasons that I love this artwork above (not only because it is a beautiful work of art from my son’s lovely girlfriend of which you can see more at http://www.facebook.com/caitsart ) but because of the emotions and awareness that it evokes in me. I love, love, love this piece of simple evocative art.

When I look at this picture, I see myself. I see my friends. I see my family. I see the strangers around me. What do I see? I see the highly personal and individual struggle we all travel on our own life journeys. Sometimes that struggle can cause us to deny what we see in front of us, hide our faces…and peek out between our fingers only when we think it is safe again.

As I was lying in the bliss of savasana one day on my mat, happy to have realigned my body, and I began noting thoughts about denial and what it means. I, for one, can be really good at denial – though as I have aged (and theoretically gained vast amounts of wisdom) I have learned that facing the scary parts full on is really the best way I have found to handle anything. Denial usually comes as a result of fear – and our own unwillingness to face that fear. Hence – we develop our own states of denial. (It’s kinda like putting your hands over your eyes when you don’t want to see something, or your hands over your ears if you don’t want to hear something.)

Here is an excerpt from Dr. Sanity about denial and what it is (Dr.Sanity Blogspot):

Denial may be conceptualized as an attempt to reject unacceptable feelings, needs, thoughts, wishes–or even a painful external reality that alters the perception of ourselves. This psychological defense mechanism protects us temporarily from:
-Knowledge (things we don’t want to know)
-Insight or awareness that threatens our self-esteem; or our mental or physical health; or our security (things we don’t want to think about)
-Unacceptable feelings (things we don’t want to feel)

I have learned over time that the moment I recognise that I feel fear (of anything) is the very moment that I have to take the hands off my eyes, turn around, and face that fear head on. If I don’t, then all I am doing is denying the existence of my fear, and of the source of that fear.

When it comes to dealing with a chronic illness, this applies too. For some of us, our chronic illnesses can be a constant source of fear and denial. How many of us deny symptoms; hope symptoms will go away on their own; just take the doc’s word at face value – with no questioning? I know I did, and sometimes still do! (I often call it pure stubborn-ness – but really, it can often boil down to simple denial…ok, I am facing that. :)

“Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable.” ~ Werner Herzog

Namaste

Carolyne

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On My Mat: Seeing The Bittersweetness of Change and Transition

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Human beings must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. ~ Albert Einstein

Change. It is the one true constant in our world, isn’t it?  However, dealing with change requires transitioning – and that often takes determined effort.  Sometimes people think: “well, transition is just another name for change. Right?” Wrong.

Change is fast. Transition is slow. Change can be forced on us. Transition is the key to accepting that change – and it takes different amounts of time for different individuals.

Whether we are healthy, or have a chronic illness to manage, change and transition are a part of living in this world. How comfortable we are with change, how resilient we can be, usually determines how we transition through that change.

Recently, I have been dealing with a fair amount of change…and I have been taking the time to truly feel the bittersweetness of it as I transition into a new way of being. I have been using my time on the mat to really feel what’s going on within me. Change can be small – like a new symptom that makes a slight modification to daily routines necessary. (Spontaneous tears for me recently is an example – irritating for me, but amusing for friends and family.) Or, change can be huge, and affect you inner core to a large and evening surprising degree. For example: My children are transitioning through from adolescence to young adulthood – so I have myself been dealing with my own transition from “Mommy” to “Mom”, from being the centre of their world, to not being the centre of their world anymore. Bittersweet. The bitter part comes from knowing I must let them fly free – that it is the natural way of things. The sweet part comes from knowing that I have done a good job as a mother – because these kids are eager to fly and take on the world in their new adventures. This allows me more time to focus on me – because my identity is changing.

You’d think that would be easy, eh? I can remember many a time over the years when my kids were young that I lamented “Oh, to just have some time to myself!” Now – I have more time on my hands. But my identity as a mother is challenged – I must transition from Mommy to Mom, flying by the seat of my pants as I do so. But isn’t that exacly what parenthood is all about? Flying by the seat of your pants as you try to raise these little beings in your care. Throw in a chronic illness, and periodic emotional lability due to either the illness or the meds for that illness…well, it leads to some pretty memorable moments!

So how do you not fill that free time to excess work or “busy-ness”, and make sure the transition does not negatively impact your health? My remedy? YOGA! I say: take action – do yoga and meditate (whether a walking meditation, relaxing meditation – whatever floats your boat!!)

Yoga can give us the strength and insight we need to navigate change in our lives. Your yoga practice can serve you well during times of change, big or small.  Yoga won’t necessarily keep you from feeling scared, overwhelmed, or confused. But it can help you sort out your feelings, letting you see  what’s happening from a position of non-attachment to guide you through those feelings so that you don’t get lost in them.

Here are some of the key things to keep in mind when dealing with change:

  • Recognize that change is an inevitable part of life. Change is the only constant!
  • Try to see change as an opportunity – an opportunity to try a new way of living. Or maybe open doors to new people. Or maybe just an opportunity to get to know yourself better, and develop your self awareness.
  • Attitude matters!!!
  • Take action of some sort – baby step by baby step. It might be something as simple as taking that first step into a yoga studio, or cracking that new cookbook to begin learning to cook. Have the courage to take that first step.
  • Be willing to let go. If you keep looking back and keep hanging on with a tight grip, you’ll never actually move forward. Stop thinking in “if only’s” – they keep you anchored in the past and keep you from moving forward. Being willing to let go—moment by moment—can by itself be the inner key to navigating change.

When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our
courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no
point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we
are not yet ready. ― Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym

Namaste.

Carolyne