QUOTES

"Live life on purpose ~ not by accident" ~ Alicia

"When it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, you can look beside you and your best friend will be there."
-- Author Unknown

"A laugh is a smile that bursts.” ~ Mary H. Waldrip

"Set your goals high and don't be deterred by those who say it is impossible." ~ Steve Fossett

"Our Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless."
Jamie Paolinetti

"A day without laughter ~ is a day wasted"
Charlie Chaplin

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
— Martin Luther King Jr.

"Gratitude is an inner smile shared" ~ Alicia

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Learning and growing with RA©

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hello My friends!
I hope this writing finds you well.

Phew, what a lesson RA is in many things:

I have learned that even when you feel like
you will never have a good day again...
With patience and pacing myself...
Oh and my 6th medicine...
I have hope.

I have learned that not everyone supports you:
Especially when you are chronically ill.
This was mind-blowing for someone like me
who trusts everyone....
Many many people walked away from me when I was
really really ill...
The blessing in my life was the ones that stayed beside me.
That was a great blessing.  The love, unconditional love.

I learned and have grown by pacing myself...
something I NEVER knew how to do.
Now I can share my experiences with you...
We can learn together....knowing this is why RA was delivered in my life.
To slow me down and to help others find balance too.
Not only that, but to find joy in my "new normal" life.

Learning to not give up hope some days was difficult!
However, my fellow RA friends and my loved ones picked me up
and carried me...and thank God for my faith.
Living with chronic pain is so impossible to explain to anyone ~
The chronic fatigue and pain is absolutely devastating
Making it difficult, if not impossible to make plans.
Adjusting to this new life, that has been a learning experience.

But, my friends...I am planting seeds, my roots are growing...
I am getting stronger!
At least I am learning to accept and live with my disabilities,
and ... to live within my boundries.
Trust me, this is growth.
I am looking forward to seeing what the rest of my life has
to offer...and what I have to offer the rest of my life.

Healing Hugs,

Alicia

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful commentary on what it's like living & learning from RA. If I had time to write, these words are the ones I'd choose to use, to express the feelings I have of living with a chronic illness. Why is BALANCE so difficult for so many of us with RA? My "new life" begins in two weeks (retiring due to RA) and my goal is BALANCE! Good luck to all of us on this journey!
Thanks again! Cathey

Molly said...

With pain n disability fr RA for 16 yrs it teaches me all of these lessons to love ourselves better n hv more compassion n support for others tt may b worse than us. We do hv bad n good days n dont ever give up hope of what we can do for ourselves n others on our good days. Lovely writings here, Alicia. Painfree hugs!!

Alicia said...

Cathey and Molly,
Thank you for your thoughtful and heartfelt words shared with all the world, and me :).
Cathey - Balance is so difficult...I have discovered that so many of us are nice Type A's with RA! Bummer. I wish you well on your early retirement. keep writing to me and us...we need you.

Molly, 16 years, you sure do have lessons to teach me and all of us. keep writing us and reminding us to never give up...and I will keep writing too.
xoxo hugs ~ alicia !