Health • Inspiration • Life
By Colin Chappell | Featured Author
He listened;
He understood;
He befriended;
He cared.
All the courage he gave me,
By just being there,
Made me feel like
I wanted to live.
He gave me so much
Yet… had so little to give…
But his time.
I realized later
There was so much more.
I was indebted to that man
And… what’s more,
To experience the caring
of someone unknown
made me wonder.
Who else was out there alone?
Try something new and
you’ll feel like a bird,
locked in a box
closed with fear
not knowing
where the key is.
But just like the magic trick,
the key is inside the box.
Your courage is the key.
◊
Wishing you a beautiful day.
💙
When all are in trial,
When all are in denial,
Let me be the one
to share a smile.
Let me be the one
to share a dance.
Let it be an advance,
to be enhanced,
when all are weary,
let me be the one
to share thinking clearly,
to share being ever so cheery.
This is what I ask.
Because I don’t want us to wear a mask.
So let us join hand-in-hand, for this to be our task.
◊
Lovely words by Autumn reminding us to always encourage and uplift each other.
May we be those willing to share a smile…even from a distance.
Wishing you all a beautiful weekend.
💙
By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor
As we grow and develop, we learn how to identify with many labels or roles, such as daughter/son, aunt/uncle, mother/father, and grandmother/grandfather, to name a few. It seems as though our stories are written before we are born to conform to these labels. In a way, these roles become rituals that comfort us as we agree to them and even expect our lives to go “as planned” based on our social codes and blueprints for survival.
I know I certainly expected my life to unfold much like my mother’s life did with marriage and family. She had seven children, and being the second oldest and oldest girl, I was able to help with all the babies she had. It never occurred to me that I would never be able to have my own children. Little did I know that my helping her at the ages of 9 and 10 with my youngest siblings would be my only times to experience at least part of what a mother does for her kids. I am not sure I appreciated this time because as much as I loved playing mommy, I also wanted to be with my friends.
Continue reading “Broken Womb, Shattered Soul: Living with Infertility (part 1)”
By John Gregory Evans | Featured Author
There remains
a deadened,
freezing,
almost an anesthetizing
sense of dread
upon my fingertips and hands,
reaching deep into my leg’s nerves,
shattered spinal cord,
peeled away
as one peels an orange.
Walking,
now a challenge,
con-fusion of the fusion,
cervical cord,
Ruptured and bruised,
arrogance of the humanity factor.
Pain
within the eyes
like lightning fingers
to the crown
of God.
Be kind to your soul
Value your mind and body
You’re one of a kind.
◊
A pertinent reminder for all of us. Thank you, Carl, for a lovely haiku.
Wishing everyone a beautiful week.
💙
A mother is like a flower–
each one beautiful and unique.
◊
Wishing every mom out there a lovely and restful Mother’s Day.
🌷
By Cynthia Cady Stanton | Featured Author
When in isolation,
and the feeling overwhelms,
remember the love within you.
Look to your heart
and the fullness there,
the fullness that swells
with your sweet attention to it.
You are not alone.
You are the branch
which stretches and shades
from every tree you have sat under.
You are the sea spray
that has kissed your face
from every stroll on the beach.
You are the joy
of your beloved pet
who always blesses you
with pure affection.
You are the song
that the morning bird sings.
You are even the touch
of every hand held
and every embrace shared.
Do you write poetry and have an encouraging or uplifting poem to share? Would you like to inspire the PhoebeMD community while broadening your own blog readership?
If so, I welcome you to submit your poem to be considered for publication.
Every sunrise gives you
a new beginning
and a new ending.
Let this morning
be a new beginning
to a better relationship
and a new ending
to the bad memories.
It’s an opportunity
to enjoy life,
breathe freely,
think and
love.
-Nortan Juster
◊
Wishing everyone a beautiful start to a new week.
💙
Dear Friends,
Happy May! This weekend, I again open up PhoebeMD.com for another Meet & Greet event. Remember, this is your moment to shine! This was originally started on PhoebeMD as a dedicated time for you all to come together to share blogs and favorite posts, make new connections, and expand your blog audiences.
The guidelines, like always, are very simple…
By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor
Part 1 – Hope Was Not a Loss: A Story About Measles Encephalitis
Part 2 – Learning How to Walk Again: Barbara’s Story
Back in 1957, the year I almost died from the measles, my parents—unlike the parents of today—did not have to face the choice of vaccination, because there was no vaccine in existence (it wasn’t introduced until several years later, in 1963).
Therefore, it was important for me to share my experience with this condition because of the great controversy that currently exists over vaccines in general, and particularly the measles vaccine. Far too many children are not getting vaccinated against measles and other diseases owing to perceived risks, so now measles has returned as a virulent threat worldwide.
Continue reading “Avoiding the Tragedy: A Look into Disease Prevention”
Gratitude
unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough
…and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order,
confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal
into a feast,
a house into a home,
a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today
and creates a vision
for tomorrow.
-Melody Beattie
◊
May we each be grateful for today. Wishing you a beautiful week.
💙
Never forget
how far you’ve come.
Everything you have
gotten through.
All the times
you have pushed on
even when you felt
you couldn’t.
All the mornings
you got out of bed
no matter how hard it was.
All the times
you wanted to give up
but you got through
yet another day…
Never forget how much strength you have learned and developed along the way.
◊
Wishing you all a safe and lovely weekend.
💙
By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor
[Part 1 – Hope Was Not a Loss: A Story About Measles Encephalitis]
My experience with measles encephalitis taught me a great deal. The greatest realization was that I could change my destiny. I had every reason to remain in the wheelchair because of the attention, sympathy, and love that not only I but also my parents received because of their poor little girl. But the attention from others could not offset the loneliness, the feelings of being diminutive and helpless, and the boredom.
Continue reading “Learning How to Walk Again: Barbara’s Story”
“Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves.
The healing comes
from letting there be room
for all of this to happen:
room for grief,
for relief,
for misery,
for joy.”
-Pema Chödrön
◊
You are beautiful. You are loved.
You are worth it.
Wishing everyone a blessed day.
💚
“No matter how we think the future might be,
it always seems to work itself out.
Life is made of moments.
Learn to appreciate each moment.
Each moment is a fresh opportunity to be happy.
This moment is your change to walk in love with others.
Today is a gift to enjoy and to rejoice.
We only have to teach ourselves to love the journey
and not the destination.”
◊
Wishing you all a most blessed day.
💙
By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor
In this article, I would like to share my story of how an illness I suffered as a child affected me. Particularly with the climate of today, I hope this will help inform people of the consequences that can develop in young children who are at risk of getting certain illnesses.
It was the summer of 1957, and it seemed to have happened all at once, where I turned from an active six-year-old girl to a helpless baby overnight. At that time, my family was living in Lewistown, Montana, where my dad was a Presbyterian minister. Mom was at home with three children, aged seven to four. That summer, all three of us contracted measles. But while my siblings’ illnesses took a more benign course, I developed a life-threatening complication: measles encephalitis—a serious and potentially fatal inflammation of the brain that can occur either during the rash phase of measles or following the illness itself.
I have often contemplated my own battle with measles encephalitis…because it did indeed nearly kill me.
Continue reading “Hope Was Not a Loss: A Story About Measles Encephalitis”
One tree can start a forest
One smile can begin a friendship
One hand can lift a soul
One word can frame a goal
One candle can wipe out darkness
One laugh can conquer gloom
One hope can raise our spirits
One touch can show you care
One life can make a difference…
Be that one today.
-BJ Gallagher
◊
May we be those willing to take the first step.
Wishing you a beautiful weekend.
💙
We have a choice each and every day.
I choose to feel blessed.
I choose to feel grateful.
I choose to be thankful.
I choose to be content.
◊
Wishing everyone a truly beautiful day.
💙
By Catarina Rodrigues, Featured Health Story
Three and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia. A hiatal hernia is what happens when the upper portion of your stomach slides up into your chest because there is an opening (a “hiatus”) in your diaphragm. This causes the person to experience severe acid reflux and discomfort, among other symptoms. When my doctor explained this to me, as—you may imagine—it all sounded quite frightening. He told me that this was essentially an incurable condition and that surgery was not recommended at my age.
Continue reading “Mind Over Body: Catarina’s Path to Health”
I give thanks for arriving
Safely in a new dawn,
For the gift of eyes
To see the world,
The gift of mind
To feel at home
In my life,
The waves of possibility
Breaking on the shore of dawn,
The harvest of the past
That awaits my hunger,
And all the furtherings
This new day will bring.
-John O’Donohue
◊
I am thankful for today…for today is a new day.
Wishing you a blessed one.
💙
Do you currently live with a chronic health condition or care for someone who does? Have you overcome a significant health event in the past? Would you like to use your experience to inspire others who may be going through similar circumstances while simultaneously expanding your own blog readership?
If so, PhoebeMD would like to invite you to submit your story to be considered for publication!
A message rekindled for the caregivers of today…
A medical student. A simple question.
“How am I supposed to go on caring?”
At the time, suggestions abound.
Work-life balance. Self-care. Hobbies.
Remembering our initial calling.
Remembering we still make a difference.
Remembering our love for medicine
and the privilege we have as caregivers.
But then the realization-
I don’t know the answer.
I only know that I have witnessed around me-
at every stage of training and practice-
evidence of emotional exhaustion.
Dissatisfaction.
Disillusionment.
Burnout.
So this is my plea…
“If you start living for the smallest reasons,
that’s when you know you’re really living.
The smell of rain after a thunderstorm,
the shades of pavements when it’s autumn,
the mediocre midnights and the color of the sunsets,
the warmth of oven when baking Christmas cookies,
the thickness of paper when flipping through magazine pages,
the smell of new books and new clothes and new things.
When you start looking at things,
really really looking,
you’ll start living.
Because then you’ll understand how it is to really be a human…
in this world full of people.”
◊
May we recognize the treasure within the little things.
Wishing you a beautiful day.
💙
By Chris Reed, Featured Contributor
James Hillman told me
the demons will come
at night in old age,
and will settle
on my bed,
on my chest,
in my hair,
in my head,
in my guts,
and prod me awake.
Befriend them he says.
They are your demons.
They are here to help.
And know you are
enough worn with years
to be not afraid.
Drink tea.
Pay heed.
Converse.
If you look them in the eye,
know you’ll soon be gone,
so don’t care what they think,
they will give you quarter
and disarm.
Then you can hold them close,
like children,
with sharp claws and teeth,
and comfort them.
For their torments are yours;
their shadows are your shadows.
Hand in hand in the night,
no one is afraid of the dark.
A pearl is a beautiful thing
that is produced by an injured life.
It is the tear that results
from the injury of the oyster.
The treasure of our being in this world
is also produced by an injured life.
If we had not been wounded,
if we had not been injured,
…then we will not produce the pearl.
-Stephan Hoeller
◊
May this echo within our being through the uncertain days.
Wishing everyone a safe and tranquil week.
Dear Friends,
Today, I again open up PhoebeMD.com for another Meet & Greet event. Remember, this is your moment to shine! This is a time for you all to come together to share your blogs and favorite posts, make new connections, and broaden your blog audiences.
The guidelines, like always, are simple…
By Barbara Leonhard, Featured Contributor
[Part 2 – Alzheimer’s: Grieving the Loss of My Mother]
I processed grief over Mom’s struggle with Alzheimer’s through poetry writing. The fact that caregivers—such as myself and many other poets—can relieve grief through poetry supports my belief that poetry is both the memoir of and the medicine for the soul. Poetry is a means to storytelling, witnessing the human condition in a personal way. What am I thinking, praying, hoping for? How am I hurting? What has happened to me? How can I understand it? How can I share it? Who will witness my pain?
Poetry provides a creative outlet for the release of pain, for healing. It explores the soul. Reading the poems of others who have gone through similar experiences as mine is reassuring because I realize that I am not alone. I could also share my experiences of loss and grief.
