art is amazing

The power of art is amazing. It has really been helpful for me. On the infrequent occasions when I feel pain, looking at art makes me feel better. I am able to shift my focus. I feel peaceful and stop worrying about the pain.

If you haven't tried Pinterest, I highly recommend it. They describe it as an online pin board, similar to pinning your interests to a bulletin board. There are many categories and, it seems, an infinite number of images. Some people pin recipes or crafts. I pin mostly art. I have separate boards for photography, earlier artists, abstract art, and many others. You can check out my pins at: http://www.pinterest.com/hogerfeld/

So, when I am hurting, I go browse through the over-6,000 images I have collected. There are some Impressionist paintings that immediately bring me a sense of peace. Depending on my mood, I will look at nature, children, animals or even old toys from childhood. I find Pinterest to be an excellent distraction.

Of course, creating art can be powerful, too. Expressing your emotions feels good. Though for me, when I take photos, I'm looking for something beautiful or interesting. My usual underlying message is: life is good.

For now, if you're looking for a distraction from your troubles, check out Pinterest. Have fun!

control

When you feel like nothing is going your way and there's nothing you can do about it, think about this quote from the author of Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert:

There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under my jurisdiction. I can decide how I spend my time, with whom I interact, with whom I share my body and life and money and energy. I can select what I read and eat and study. I can choose how I'm going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life – whether I will see them as curses or opportunities. I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which they speak to others. And most of all, I can choose my thoughts. – Elizabeth Gilbert

a gift instead of a struggle

Here is a new thought pattern that I am trying: Stop thinking about my "struggle." When I can consider my life situation as a gift instead of a struggle, the struggle will cease to be.

So: My disability is a gift. It has brought me unique experiences. It has brought me interactions with a much wider group of people who have enriched my life. It has given me the opportunity to touch the lives of a much wider group of people.

I believe it is our job in life to learn and love as much as possible. My MS has helped me learn and love in a much wider variety of ways. It also jump started my spiritual journey. Each new aspect of my progressive disease has spurred ongoing spiritual searching. In my worst moments, the gift I must focus on is my soul's growth.

How's that for a positive spin? Let's see how long until "gift" is the 1st thought that comes to mind when I'm having an MS moment.

grateful

I am trying to change the way I think about my disease. Trying to be grateful instead of angry.

I am grateful for all the things that MS has taught me. I am grateful for all of the opportunities and insights it has given me. If the disability does continue to worsen year after year, I am grateful that my difficulties encourage my spiritual journey. It's possible that I might not pursue further spiritual thought if I didn't have trials urging me to search for answers.

imagination

A few months ago I started visualizing my life as I would like to see it: me fully functioning physically. I made a list of the activities that I wish I could do. I broke the list into 4 parts and taped them around the apartment. The idea being that throughout the day I would stop, choose an activity from one list and spend 10 to 15 min. seeing and feeling myself do that activity.

I usually visualize exercising (in various ways) in the morning and dancing before I go to sleep at night. It's great to feel myself lifting weights, jumping rope, dancing around the bedroom, etc. I have been doing this with the hopes of creating a new reality for myself.

While it’s not reality, seeing and feeling myself do things I enjoy gives me a little bit of the miracle I'm contemplating during those 10 to 15 min. After encouragement from a friend last week, I began adding extra times to my day when I feel the way I wish I could. Imagination is a wonderful, powerful thing. How will you use yours?

better thoughts

A leader does not say, “Follow me.” A leader says, “I will go 1st.” – Neale Donald Walsch

So here I am. I will go 1st in seeking the positive in every situation, seeking greater spiritual understanding (how many of you have explored Source?), and practicing encouraging others to feel the light within them.

Here is an exercise from Esther and Jerry Hicks: whatever your thought is right now, reach for a better one. For instance, “being cooped up in the cold weather gets me down.” A better thought, “I'm so glad I have a roof over my head.” A next better thought, “My home is so comfortable and nicely decorated, I love it.” And another, “When I am bored at home, I could rearrange the furniture and have some fun.” The idea is to reach for better thoughts repeatedly until you feel good.

When I'm feeling down, the process is hard to get started, but when I put my mind to it, I feel better. Hope you do, too!