Still Holding On



clasped-hands2I am amused by well intentioned comments about How wonderful it is that you never give up, or Isn’t the story about the three legged blind dog of the terminally ill one armed man that I sent you at 3 a.m. while I was trolling stumbleupon, so inspirational? As always we see what we want to see and make assumptions about our world based on our unique point of view.  But really!  What choice does that three legged dog have?  What choice do any of us have in terms of moving forward?  Even when we are stewing in our own Starbucks we are still at best passing time and simply holding on the best we can.

I responded to a community post yesterday to a query about what is it that we do when we seem to be at the end of our ropes with the burdens of a chronic illness.  As you might expect, most of the responses in the thread were along the lines of haagen daz and a good movie with a sprinkle of prayer lest any of us forget the source of all healing.  Risking my own personification of Zen Mother, I thought I would provide some comic relief to chronic disorder. So in answer to … What helps you to cope?

  • I make myself a stiff drink! (oh, wait no, I gave up drinking decades ago)
  • I light up a cigarette and have a double espresso! (no, gave ’em up even before I stopped drinking!)
  • I eat a big mac and fries! (nope … grain brain vegetarian here.)
  • I get my “Call On Me” Dance Video and work out! (oh that one even had ME laughing)
  • I watch YouPorn on my laptop. (No. Really I do.)
  • Pray? Gamble? Chocolate? (nada, non, nyet)

My goodness no wonder I am at the END OF MY ROPE!!!!

From what I have noticed on my own journey, it seems that suffering comes from the silent stories inside our mind.  Coping then would be gauged by how tightly we are holding on to the mental noise in that moment, and in that sense being at the end of our rope is the perfect place to be … to LET GO!

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