This is for the warrior. Yes, You. The warrior who gets up day after day and fights. You fight even though you know you are going to feel like crap. You fight even when you know no one is going to recognize the strength it takes to survive day after day in a body that fights against you. Very few people can live in the bubble that is chronic illness, but you do it, and it’s because of your experiences that make you capable of changing the world. You can be the change the world has been waiting for, and it’s because of your strength and wisdom gained from battling your illness day after day. Once you realize that your difficulties in life make you more…not less….you will begin to experience your power in a new way. Let’s take a look at some things that can help us live the life we want while dealing with chronic illness:
- Don’t give up
It sounds simple, right? It’s not. It’s easy to feel like everything is pointless when you are dealing with something so major, and if you haven’t heard it yet let us tell you that what you are going through is not fair and it’s not easy. But we need you. We need the warrior reading this because your fight is someone’s reason to continue. Your story matters. You matter and this world needs you.
- Prepare for the bad days, and the good
There will always be bad days, and while we can’t be fully prepared for everything that will happen, we can have a plan regardless. On your bad days you may need to simply rest and stay inside all day, and that’s okay. A good day will always return, even once in a blue moon, and when that day comes you should enjoy it. We are not here on this earth to experience pain in new ways every day, and if we dwell on the negative, we will only bring more negativity into our lives. One of the hardest things we can do as chronic illness warriors is to find purpose in the struggle, but once we do, we become unstoppable.
- Don’t put conditions on your happiness
You deserve happiness. You deserve love. You deserve to have everything this world has to offer, but too often we fall into the trap of feeling as if because of the condition we have, or position we are in healthwise, we can’t have those things until the event passes or I get “better.” But the truth is you can choose to fight for those things now, and yes it will be hard, but you should never believe that you don’t deserve to have happiness and love because you of all people deserve it the most.
“This choice to enjoy life will lead you through your spiritual journey. In truth, it is itself a spiritual teacher. Committing yourself to unconditional happiness will teach you every single thing there is to learn about your mind, your heart, ad your will. But you have to mean it when you say that you’ll be happy for the rest of your life. Every time a part of you begins to be unhappy, let it go. Work with it. Use affirmations, or do whatever you need to do to stay open. If you are committed, nothing can stop you. No matter what happens, you can choose to enjoy the experience. If they starve you and put you in solitary confinement, just have fun being like Gandhi. No matter what happens, just enjoy the life that comes to you.” (Singer, 2007, p. 144)
You’ve been dealt a rough hand, but even after everything you have been through you are still here fighting, day after day. You have survived what most could not and it’s because of your experiences that you will change the world. The strength and wisdom gained from fighting day after day with little recognition makes you a warrior. Never forget that you are the change the world has been waiting for and you can do the impossible because you’ve been doing it your whole life.
References:
Singer, M. A. (2007). 15, the path of unconditional happiness. In The untethered soul: the journey beyond yourself (pp. 144–144). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
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