Tag: Mindfulness

Mindfulness Monday 29

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Mindfulness6 Comments
poinsettia3
image by w. holcombe

“Did I offer peace today?
Did I bring a smile to someone’s face?
Did I say words of healing?
Did I let go of my anger and resentment?
Did I forgive?
Did I love?
These are the real questions.”

~Henri Nouwen

“Peace is accepting today,
releasing yesterday,
and giving up the need to control tomorrow.”

~Lori Deschene

 

 

 

Mindfulness Monday 28 – Giving

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness7 Comments

boxes-stacked-dec-2011-color

“Before giving, the mind of the giver is happy;
while giving, the mind of the giver is made peaceful;
and having given, the mind of the giver is uplifted.”

~ Buddha

“The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention.
When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Mindfulness Monday 27 – Anxiety

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Mindfulness4 Comments

ball-falling-in-hole

Sometimes the best thing you can do is
not think,
not wonder,
not imagine,
not obsess.
Just breathe,
and have faith
that everything will work out for the best.

~unknown

When you try to control everything,
you enjoy nothing.
Sometimes you just need to relax, breathe, let go,
and just live in the moment.

~ unknown

 

*Please note, all artwork on Picnic with Ants created and owned by Wendy Holcombe unless otherwise noted.

Mindfulness Monday 26 – Happiness

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Mindfulness1 Comment

happy-colored-10-10

“If you are a taker of happiness you get misery,
if you are a giver of happiness you get joy and love.”

~Sri Sri

 

“When you discover that all happiness is inside of you,
the wanting and the needing are over,
and LIFE gets very exciting.”

~Byron Katie

 

 

*all images on Picnic with Ants created and owned by Wendy Holcombe unless otherwise noted.

#HAWMC Day 19 Rough day? What do you do?

On By WendyIn #HAWCM, Chronic Illness6 Comments

Today is Day 19 of #HAWMC (WEGO’s Health Activist Writers Monthly Challenge).  The prompt today is:

Everyone has tough days, but how do you pull yourself out of the rut?
Maybe you blog, repeat affirmations or listen to a favorite playlist.
Write about what tools, tips or practices you use to lift your spirits after a rough patch.

om-1277425_960_720
image source pixaby

When I read this prompt I was reminded of a post I wrote a few years ago, I thought I’d link back to it now for your reading pleasure.  Living In The Moment  In this post you will find one of the main ways I deal with the rough days.

A little list of things I do to deal with a rough patch:

  • I do things that get me involved with others.  I reach out.  I text, email, blog, talk….
  • I do things that relax me.  I take a bath, a nap, read, watch movies and  mindless TV…
  • I do mindfulness exercises.  I focus on staying in this moment.  I remember that the past is over and the future is not written (when I’m having tough days I can get caught up in “how good things use to be” and “how bad things will always be”, neither of these things are true, focusing simply on the present can make it not as overwhelming). I meditate and do deep breathing exercises.
  • I remember to be grateful.  I write in my gratitude journal, I am sure remember I have many things to be grateful for.
  • During particularly rough times, such as a very bad vertigo attack, I chant.  I have a special chant I learned in a yoga class years ago that my husband and I chant together when I’m extremely sick with vertigo, this helps to calm me down. “Om bhur bhuvah svah tat savitur varenyam”
  • I have my go to books, and I seek out books on mindfulness.  I have books by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Thich Nhat Hanh, and others that I rely on, but the first book I reach for is How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness, by Toni Bernhard.
  • One of the biggest things I need to do during a rough patch is to remember, it’s not my fault.  I’m often hardest on myself during a rough patch, so I try to practice self compassion during this time most of all.
  • During particularly rough patches I reach out to my therapist, remember, that’s what they are there for.

How do you get through a rough patch?  Any suggestions?

If you’d like to read more posts from today please search for #HAWMC and check out WEGO’s Facebook page.  Don’t forget to Like Picnic With Ant’s Facebook Page too.  🙂

If you would like to share your story on Picnic with Ants, contact me through the contact form on my About Me – Contact Me Page.

 

 

Mindfulness Monday 24

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Mindfulness3 Comments

butterfly-woman

“A moment of self compassion can change your entire day.
A string of such moments can change the course of your life”
~ Christopher Germer

 

“I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self indulgent.
Caring for myself is an act of survival.”
~Audre Lorde

 

*all artwork on Picnic with Ants created and owned by Wendy Holcombe unless otherwise noted.

Mindfulness Monday 23

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Mindfulness3 Comments
dandilion-with-lady-bugs
what I saw while walking today.

“Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.”

~Thich Nhat Hanh

 

“Take my hand.
We will walk.
We will only walk.
We will enjoy our walk without thinking of arriving anywhere.”

~Thich Nhat Hanh

 

*all photos and artwork on Picnic with Ants are created and owned by Wendy Holcombe unless otherwise noted.

#HAWMC Day 4 – Day of Diagnosis

On By WendyIn #HAWCM, Chronic Illness3 Comments

Today is Day 4 of #HAWMC (WEGO’s Health Activist Writers Monthly Challenge).  The prompt today is:

Do you remember the day you were diagnosed? Perhaps you were scared, felt alone and surely you had tons of questions. Write a letter to yourself for the day you were diagnosed, knowing all you do now.

doctor-563428_960_720
pixabay.com

 

Dear Wendy,

You’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.  You’ve been diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease before, you just didn’t know that the doctor didn’t really diagnose you.  He didn’t know much of anything.  I’m sorry you had to go through that.  He didn’t even put the diagnosis of Meniere’s in your records, he only told you that you had it.  So today you sit there wondering….”Do I really have Meniere’s?  Do I have some brain tumor?  Is there something worse?  Could it be something minor and I’ve been suffering for 7 years because I have been going to a doctor who “doesn’t know much about Meniere’s”?  How could he have looked you in the eye and said that?  After he has been treating you for SEVEN years?  Now that it is in both ears he admitted he didn’t know much.  WTF?

So today you are here at Duke Medical Center to see this new doctor.  The doctor won’t even see you until you have been through a series of vestibular testing and had hearing tests.  Don’t be so nervous.  The tests aren’t as scary as they might be, the people who run the tests on you are very nice.  Don’t get me wrong the tests are intimidating, but the wonderful people there who are taking care of you make it much easier.

After the vestibular testing and the hearing test you go back to meet the doctor and you are diagnosed with Meniere’s.  The tests showed that you have vestibular damage, but there is no cause shown, and you have all the symptoms of Meniere’s Disease.  Unfortunately, you have it in both ears.  That is going to make it more difficult for you, but you are strong, you will be able to deal with it.  The disease is progressive.  You don’t know it yet, but you will lose your hearing.  That is not as scary as it sounds.  You deal with it.  Really, it will be okay.

The doctor is very understanding and doesn’t pull any punches.  He tells you that Meniere’s is one of the worst diseases he knows of that won’t kill you.  There is no cure.  There are some treatments, but not a lot.  He also tells you that it is a disease of random punishment.  He is refering to how the vertigo hits.  He explains it is likened to a soldier at war.  He knows he will be under fire, he just doesn’t know when.  He is always expecting it.  You will always be expecting the random punishment of vertigo.  It’s a horrible thing to live with.  But you will deal with it.  One moment at a time.

You learn all of this in one day.  Some things you were told gave you some false hope.  You will learn there isn’t a “normal” in Meniere’s.  There is a lot you will have to deal with over the next few years.  Know you will be okay.  The more you start to follow a mindfulness mindset you feel better about how things are.

The day of your diagnosis is just the beginning.  You have so many more days that are more important than that first day.  It was just the beginning.  You have no idea what kind of ride you are in for.  Don’t give up, even when it seems like there is nothing left.  (don’t worry I know you don’t give up….won’t give up!)  Focus on each day as it comes, don’t worry about tomorrow so much.  Try hard not to focus on the past.  It is over and you can’t get it back.  Focus on today, right now.  Make today the best you can.  But remember, we all have bad days.  Be gentle with yourself.

If you’d like to read more posts from today please check out WEGO’s Facebook page.  and don’t forget to check out Picnic With Ant’s Facebook Page too.  🙂

#HAWMC Day 3 – Quote

On By WendyIn #HAWCM, Chronic Illness1 Comment

Today is Day 3 of #HAWMC (WEGO’s Health Activist Writers Monthly Challenge).  The prompt today is:

Quotation Inspiration. Find a quote that inspires you (either positively or negatively) and free write about it for 15 minutes.

mindfulness-sunset-palm-springs

I post mindfulness quotes on my blog every Monday, this quote from James Baraz is my favorite it shows the essence of mindfulness in just a few lines.

“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different;  enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).” – James Baraz

When I read these words they resonate with me.  When I’m having a good time and I realize I may pay for it later, I understand that things will change and I will be okay with it.  I will not try to hold on to these good times, I know it will end and that’s okay.  It is this moment that counts.

I really rely on this quote during bad times.  “being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t)”  What an inspiring thing to say.  Remember no matter how bad it is, this moment will not last.  Things will change.  The unpleasant moment will not be here forever.  When I go through a difficult medical test or treatment, I remember, it will not last forever.  Things will get better.   When I’m in the middle of a vertigo attack, I constantly remind myself that it will not always be this way.  It will change.  The vertigo will stop.  It-will-stop.  It will not always be this way.  This is very important when I have vertigo because during an attack I am always afraid it will not end.  Remembering that it will end, that all unpleasantness has an ending, helps.

There is another quote that I think goes well with this one.  It is by Eckhart Tolle – “Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.”

I think on this a lot.  When I am having a bad day I remind myself to accept this day as if I had chosen it.  If I chose it then there is nothing wrong with it.  How can I not like it, if I chose it?   If I’m having a vertigo attack, I will work with it, not against it, and things work out much better for me.  (I must say here that vertigo attacks are one of the most horrific things I have every experienced, if not the MOST horrific.  Vertigo attacks with Meniere’s Disease can last for a few minutes to days. Normally mine last for hours….many hours.)

These are a couple of quotes that get me through the day.  There are many mindfulness quotes that run through my mind when I’m having a particularly rough time.  Reading inspirational quotes really helps me keep a good grasp on things.

I have one more quote that really gets me through.

i-believe-in-youMy mother told me this often.  I particularly remember her telling me this when I was in college.  I was the first in my family to graduate from college, when I was attending there were a few times that I doubted myself.  I was going through a very rough time undiagnosed with Bipolar disorder.  I was misdiagnosed for a long time.  When I was in college it was a very rough time, but my mother always believed in me.  It has always meant a lot to me to have that belief.   I have found that the people who touch me on my blog believe in me and I believe in them.  This is a great support system.  This is very important when you have a chronic illness.  This quote is very important.  Remember, I believe in you.

If you’d like to read more posts from today please check out WEGO’s Facebook page.  and don’t forget to check out Picnic With Ant’s Facebook Page too.  🙂

*all artwork on Picnic with Ants has been created by Wendy Holcombe unless otherwise noted.  (I can’t remember if I created the “I believe in you” graphic or not.  It was in my files)

Mindfulness Monday – 22

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Mindfulness2 Comments

autumn-in-asheville

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky.

Conscious breathing is my anchor.”

~Thich Nhat Hanh

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life,

live in the moment,

live in the breath.”

~Amit Ray

 

 

* all artwork and photography on this site created and owned by Wendy Holcombe unless otherwise noted.