Half-Full

Well, one month of this blog adventure is coming to an end! I can't believe that I have been able to do this every single day so far! My goal is to write every day to help with my experiment of exploring happiness while in pain - as well as to encourage those of you who might be reading as well.

Today my parents had us over for a family dinner after church, and my siblings and their kids were also there. It was nice to see everyone and to play with the nephews. But I have not been feeling well all day, so finally it became clear to me that we needed to come home. No one else was leaving, but my husband and I said our good-byes and left. I could have felt upset than my body once again made me have less time with those that I love - but the attitude I am choosing today is to be thankful for the time that I did get to spend. So much of this different kind of happiness is in choosing (and yes it IS a choice) to see the glass half-full rather than half-empty!

As an experiment this week why don't you purposefully focus on the good things and force yourself to not dwell of the things that you have lost because of pain or illness. Please share with me what you find out!

Hot Water

I am so so thankful for hot water! Today was a very busy and stressful day as I faced something that was hard for me but made it through and am so happy to be done! There is always a physical let-down after something stressful or even fun that involves going out of the house. When I get back home I feel like I went through a washing machine! So, tonight I slipped into a hot hot bath. The water just erased so much of the day's pains and stresses. The warmth was like a great big enveloping hug. So often I will feel as if I just can't take another moment, and then I remember to try a bath. Sometimes my husband has to remind me. I almost always feel such relief for a brief moment when I first get into the water ... I am aware only of the heat - and it is such a beautiful thing!

I've talked about little things before, and I am sure that I will again because little things are so important to the coping with pain. A bath may be a little thing but what a wonderful little thing!

Knowing When to be Quiet

When I was little, my wise Mama used to say: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!"

Tonight, I feel sad and uneasy about something very hard that I need to do tomorrow. It's an emotional drain on me, but something that I need to do. It's a good thing, but very difficult.

Tonight would not be a good night for me to talk about my pain. When faced with other stresses and sadness in life - sometimes physical pain can seem even worse than it is. I think an important part of learning to live with illness and pain is knowing when you are weaker emotionally, and knowing that it isn't the best time to make decisions or have serious conversations about anything important. Tonight is a night for resting, and breathing one breath at a time.

And there is joy in knowing that the day after tomorrow will come soon, and all of this will be in the past - an opportunity for growth. And that makes me smile...

..even in the tears.