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n life with chronic illness & disability you quickly learn that so many commonly-accepted life-mantras do NOT apply to this life.
One blazing one is “its mind over matter”… which implies that if we simply focus our minds enough on a goal and have enough will, disciple, sacrifice, patience, we can obtain the said goal. In reality this statement is VERY false and I think in fact, in most cases, a person focusing on this as the truth simply does more harm then good, especially in life with chronic illness. When I was healthy in my childhood and young adult years, I did buy into this way of thinking, and in many things I achieved in my life, my college degree, professional career, purchasing my first home, starting my 1st business, this mantra certainly did seem to apply… but then chronic illness struck and for years I fought and fought, continuing to believe if I had enough will I would make a way despite it all, despite the diagnosis of a life-altering, chronic eventually fatal illness without treatment. In reality, that thinking only led me to cause more harm to my body, as well as my psyche creating deep lasting emotional scars, I pushed so hard constantly I lost friendships, I neglected my relationships with family and with myself for that matter.
Today I live by completely new, realistic mantras, such as: “today is a new day, there are new opportunities”, “I am blessed to have another 24 hours of life”, “my life is just my life, there is nothing wrong with the way it is right now in this moment”, and “I have value and worth, no matter what I am achieving, or how much money I am making, nor what I drive, where I live, or what clothes I can afford to wear.” These are truths, these mantras offer guidance for peaceful living which causes no harm to myself nor others and offers radical acceptance of the reality of my body and mind’s current physical and emotional capacities and reality… and at the end of the day, being kind to ourselves and others, and helping bring more peace into a broken world filled with fighting, anger, greed, and hurt, is actually the greatest goal we could ever aspire to anyhow.
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