It has been a rough couple of weeks (scroll to previous post or click here), and this Thursday was an awful living with disease day, but this week has also been a productive one writing wise.
Usually in the morning, after I wake and before morning pages journaling and breakfast, I add my favorite moments of the previous day (or what I was most thankful for the previous day, or a goal I want to accomplish) to my happiness jar. (For the down low on happiness jars, click here to be taken to author Elizabeth Gilbert's post).
As I was finishing up my note paper for Tuesday, 10/7, the day I had an MRI after which I was in awful pain, I wrote down "Finding books I have had on my list for some time on the bargain rack! Simplest pleasures = greatest joy!!!"
Simplest pleasures = greatest joy.
I continued writing about this in my journal. In a nutshell: Simplest Pleasures = Greatest Joy will be a new featured post here at The Portable Homestead and #simplestpleasuresgreatestjoy a new Instagram & twitter. Then I set about creating a feature image and came up with this:
This is a photo I took on the drive to the diner from our camper in the Northwestern NJ Skylands region, up in the Kittatinny Mountains, last Sunday morning. It was in the 30s, crisp and clear; a picture perfect Autumn morning! The stunning Autumn foliage was at peak, and in spots a bit ahead or behind. As I've mentioned numerous times here over the years, the colors and weather of Autumn fill me with an intense joy, and last weekend was no exception even with the pain I was in. And this photo stood right out to me when I started looking for one to go with this new theme.
Also during Wednesday morning's morning pages journaling, I wrote about how so often, "living with disease means living in a constant state of upheaval and trying to create something (revival) out of it so we're not lost in the overwhelming-ness of it all!"
And that's when it hit me: Living with disease = turning upheaval into revival. Living With Disease = Upheaval Into Revival.
Yes, I am going to combine my Living With Disease and Upheaval Into Revival features posts to better share my experiences living with disease, chronic pain, chronic fatigue and chronic illness, as well as migraines.
Plus, while I feel there is a lot of great stuff out there for folks who are newly diagnosed or who have mild/moderate cases, I don't feel from what I've seen over the years that there is much out there for folks like me who are beyond the possibility of remission and are at the indefinite limbo stage of symptom & pain management phase of living with disease. I told my Mom the other day that I wished I could put out a publication for folks like me. And during Wednesday morning's morning pages journaling, I realized I can, through The Portable Homestead.
While it is heartbreaking to know others suffer in relatable ways, it's also a comfort knowing we are not alone in this despite the isolating affects of living with disease. And if just one person finds comfort in my tellings, it's absolutely worth it!
Last, but certainly not least as the ole saying goes, I've also been working on my fiction writing as of late. I've made more progress over the last month than the last who knows how many years! And all because of a wonderful yet do-able suggestion from a non-writer bff: "Hand write one or two pages on each of your (four) topics. Whatever comes to mind about each topic, write it down and fill at least one page about it. You don't need to begin, you just need to write."
Wow.
The funny thing is, for whatever reason, we had never really discussed my writings to such a deep degree before, but that rainy Saturday afternoon in September was different. We both talked with one another about things we hadn't in years or hadn't delved deeply into or ever. And we've been friends for 14+ years! And she's been one of my best friends now for 13 years.
Since that conversation with bff K, I have been exploring each of my four novel ideas, researching and taking & organizing notes.
Yes, much of my recent writing and such is happening while in bed - Google author Laura Hillenbrand before you knock it!
For my writing & blogging friends out there, what are you creating so far this Autumn?
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