Quantity vs. Quality

I have been neglecting my blog. There are many reasons for it. Life sometimes gets in the way of the next blog post. I had put together several small articles about healthy eating and gentle exercise before I realized that there is so much information out there that there is really no one way that is right for everyone. I know what is right for me and some of what is right for me is helpful to others but there are so many factors that make up a person's over all health that in the end, all I can really tell you is how I do it. To do otherwise would be narcissistic. So, I think a better approach would just be to let you in on my day to day routine and what I do to manage my health.
I am in the process of climbing back up from a down hill slide with my health. Having Fibromyalgia and CMP is getting on my last nerve! I can be just fine one day and than have the worst flare of my life for the next thirteen, which is what I am fighting to come out of now.
This latest flare has taught me that even if you think that you are doing everything right; eating healthy, exercising, getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, etc. If you have a chronic illness, you have to take the unexpected in stride. Now, let's be honest, saying that and doing it are two different things.
I have a fighter mentality when it comes to my chronic pain and just about everything else. For years I have told myself, 'Just fight a little harder. Get back up!' But recently, I decided to not to.
I'm beginning to think that I have been going about this all wrong. The constant fight is exhausting. I have been so focused on getting well that I am using energy that could be better utilized elsewhere. Quantity of life is nothing without quality of life. If I am only focusing on beating back the pain then I have no time for the things that I love to do but have stopped doing in order to focus on the fight. I am not taking off my gloves but I am going to let my guard down and just go with the flow.
That is something that many of us with chronic illness never learn to do. People either spend their whole lives focused solely on the fight or they give up completely. Many of us never find the happy medium. That in between place where we can not only take care of ourselves but enjoy the life we have been given as well.
Going with the flow for me means that I understand that I have only a small amount of control over these diseases. I can control how I take care of myself. I can control how much exercise I do, the foods I eat, how often I sleep but I can not control when a flare is going to blindside me or how fast scar tissue will build and cause a problem. Rather than putting all of my energy into trying to prevent the next flare from taking me off my feet, I will just continue my daily routine but with a twist. I am going to start doing all of the things that I love to do but have been putting off until I am well. Quality of life.
Yeah, you read that right; I did say until I am well. I'm not giving up the chance of remission. Even if it's only for a little while, but as I am working toward that, I'm going to cut myself some slack and enjoy the little things; art, writing, my family and pets, my friends. It doesn't matter if I can't walk one day or hold a coffee cup the next. I can't stop that from happening but I can stop wearing myself out by fighting my body every day.
When the mind is calm and happy and the spirit is calm and happy, I'm thinking the body will be too. I'm going to find out. I'll keep you posted.