The Wound Is The Place Where The Light Enters You

Fear. Illness. Disappointment. Anxiety.

The words dangle before my eyes, suspended in midair as if to taunt me. They hang in the balance as constant reminders of what is now. I close my eyes tightly, hoping the words will disappear. But when I open them they dance wildly as if to mock me for the hope that went unanswered.

I know I don’t have the corner on pain and sadness. But I’ve had more than my share, in ways I never imagined.

Offer hope instead of platitudes to those with chronic illness

People mean well when they offer trite platitudes like “When one door closes another one opens” or “We get as much as the Lord thinks we can handle” but those maxims were created by people looking for easy answers. They’ve never stopped anyone’s anxieties.

Whatever lessons I’ve learned came from the brilliance of others who offered hope and resilience through words or action.   

When I was thirteen my brother gave me the book “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran. I quickly devoured it. As I allowed the words to wash over me something powerful happened. My inner spirit came to life as if there was a birth. And there was. It was the beginning of my passion for philosophy and spirituality. I felt my inner spirit coming out of the darkness and into the light.  

Change your perspective, change your world

Gibran offered me a way to look at life through a different lens. Changing your perspective can change your world.

The words of great philosophers, poets and men and women of peace give us comfort during troubled times. Ordinary folks living their lives with integrity, dignity and compassion provide us with examples to live by.

They all give us the tools to live an honorable life in an imperfect world. Living is not determined by what life brings to us but by the attitude we bring to it.

Attitude is key to living a life of joy

At a young age I learned that my attitude would be the key to living a life of joy and passion. Little did I know how handy this would be at a seminal moment in my life when, at the tender age of twenty-eight, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and became part of the disability community. I leaned on the philosophy of Gibran to help me face my greatest challenge.  

Buddhism helped me deal with adversity. When things fall apart, feel lucky instead of angry. Yes, lucky. By facing fear we find the courage to grow stronger. Leaning into fear is an opportunity to flourish.  

I know that facing our fears is not an easy thing to do. Sometimes the adversities we face are almost too much to bear. Life can be cruel.

When MS feels too much to bear, do this

Sometimes life hurls bushels of lemons at us and we’re unable to make lemonade. Our troubles seem too difficult to overcome and we think we’ll never recover.

Breathe. Step outside of yourself and look through a new lens. We always have two choices: feel sorry for ourselves or treat the lemons as a gift. Every challenge is either an obstacle or an opportunity to grow. The choice is ours.

My lemon is my chronic illness. It’s a battlefield, a daily war zone of fatigue, pain, weakness, anxiety and even depression.

What's your lemon?

The importance of gratitude when facing chronic illness

Every day I try to be grateful for the morning sunrise and the fact that I can get out of bed on my own. I'm grateful to be able to dress, bathe and feed myself. That I can walk and use both arms to hug my husband, son, and cats. I blessed to have work I’m passionate about and the ability to help others feel less frightened and isolated on their health journey.

And I can make my own choices.

No matter what course my disease takes in the coming years I will remain strong. I will always use my voice to make a difference in the lives of others, and let the world know that this disabled woman will always matter.

At some point in our lives we will all stand on the precipice of fear and must choose which direction we want to go. Life isn't always fair. It's not the Utopia we want it to be. So in the face of sadness and despair I hope we can remain forever strong. 

How about you?

I choose to live in gratitude, no matter what lemons are thrown my way. I count my blessings, turn toward fear and keep my head in the direction of the sun to face another challenge. Because, as my favorite quote by Rumi says:

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

NOTE: This post was originally posted July 2015.