The Meaning of Life, the Universe and Chronic Illness

It’s time for my monthly writing prompts from the lovely Sheryl at A Chronic Voice. This week I’m looking at the meaning of life.

Finding

I laughed when reading this prompt. It seems like I’m forever searching for stuff lately. I can’t remember where I’ve put anything and it drives me and my family nuts. I’m not the only one though, the rest of my family are just as useless at finding things so I don’t think this is down to my illness but probably an inherited trait.

But on a deeper level I’ve been looking for the meaning of life and wondering why some people have it so much more difficult than others. Is it true that there is a form of re-incarnation, where karma plays a part? If that’s the case then I must have been something real evil in a previous life and now I have to pay for it. The more I look into my life as a whole the more I find that things have been pretty crap since I was a very young child. Not just health wise.

However, I do appreciate every day the good things that have happened in my life, even if they went from good to bad, at least they were good for a while and that’s what I have to focus on.

It’s not Just Me!

Then I hear of other’s stories and realise that so many people have such crap lives and it is actually a very few that have blessed time while here on earth. (And even those I know who outwardly seem to have blessed lives are still hiding some dark times.)

So in conclusion, I’ve found that life is pretty crap!
But, we are only here for a short time, and for some, it’s far too short. So, as a positive minded person, I have to make the most of the time that I’m here and try and make it better for those around me too. At least then I will feel that life really does have some meaning.

Researching

I’m constantly researching the effects of my illness, I think it’s one of the natural things you do when you have a chronic condition. I am keeping a log of things and have some ideas for my consultant next time we meet. I don’t think my current treatment is working so well, and I’ve always asked for more. Well, this month I went to my GP and asked for less! Yes, I requested a reduction in my medication. Sometimes the side effects are worse than the benefits and it’s so difficult to work out.

Earlier this year I was having heart problems, I had severe palpitations which at times made me think like I was dying. But it turns out that a change in my medication was all that it took to lessen them. I’m not completely cured but it’s gone from happening almost every day to once or twice a month. It was only through researching my medication that I worked this out. The Doctors were too busy looking for reasons within my body for these symptoms, attaching me to machines and recording my heart patterns. I researched the reactions of my medication and which worked best for me.

We humans are amazing creatures, every one of us is so different in body and mind. Sometimes Doctors, even though they are brilliant, work too methodically to realise this and often miss the real meaning behind what’s happening

Dating

I wasn’t going to answer this as I’m a married women. Dating is not something I do. I don’t even have ‘date nights’ with my husband. But, if I’m honest, dating is not something I’ve done much of all my life.
I met my previous husband at the age of 16 and he was my first serious boyfriend. When we split up, I dated a total of two guys before meeting my current husband. I’m no expert on dating.

But, when I did meet my current husband I decided that I was never going to get married again. He was never happy about that but we spent many years together. Then when I got sick (my illness happened quite suddenly) he stuck by me and wanted to do all he could to help me. I hear so often in the chronic illness society about relationships just not lasting because the partner couldn’t manage with their loved one’s illnesses. But Graham was prepared to stick around no matter what. So I married him and we are just coming up to our third anniversary, despite being together for eighteen years.

If he did leave me, then I don’t think I’d even bother trying to date again. I know it’s never the end of the line and that there are plenty of older guys out there that would probably make suitable partners. But honestly, sometimes looking after yourself makes it way too difficult to factor someone else in, so I’d probably just stay alone.

Reusing

I’m taking this as a prompt to write about recycling or changing from throw away products to protect our earth. I hate it when people who are trying to be more ‘green’ get labelled as ‘snowflakes.’ Our planet is our most precious resource, of course we need to protect it.

Sidenote: I hate the term ‘snowflake’ as being used as a derogatory word anyway. One of the most beautiful things in life are snowflakes and each one is individual, just like us humans. So, in fact, every one of us is a snowflake anyway. And trust me, any one of us can melt away in an instant too.

I have recycled for many years but I’ve stepped up the mark lately by cutting down hugely on resuable plastics. We’ve gone back to using bars of soap instead of plastic bottles and flannels and cloths rather than throw away wipes. I went one step further this week when my son complained that his duvet was not keeping him warm. Instead of throwing it out and buying another. I found an older duvet and put both inside his cover, all it needed was a quick wash and freshen up and now he has a big thick duvet ready for the colder months.

I could go on and on about reusing and saving our planet. But that would be a whole blog post on it’s own.

Recounting

I’ve already touched on recounting the good memories and weighing them up. I may have had a lot of bad things in my life, but there have been good times to remember. I had a lot of memories come up recently while clearing out my old wardrobe and going through old photographs and memory boxes I’d created.

One thing I was thinking about recently was how quickly things change. I remembered all the times when we were going through difficult times and now they are just distant memories. Recounting past experiences can be therapeutic.

I remember when my daughter was young and I knew I had diary that I’d written while my eldest daughter was the same age. I decided to read through it and suddenly realised that it had been one of the worst years that I’d ever experienced (up until that point anyway!) But, I’d gone there because I’d wanted to recount the good things about my baby girl and it saddened me that these good times had been overshadowed by the bad…but only in my writing..in my head it was still good. The brain is an amazing tool.

Finding Meaning.

So, in life, no matter how awful, we have to focus on the good. One good day a month maybe the only thing I can acheive these days, but it doesn’t matter. Even on the worst days I can do something worthwhile. I love creating things and I’ve found crochet extremely therapeutic. I love reading and absorbing stories, I get excited and engrossed, and even though it’s not my life, it’s something I can ‘live’ even for a little while.

I’ve also discovered the power of Netflix. I haven’t been such a television addict for many years. But now there is nothing I like more than waiting for the kids to go to sleep and then switching on a program or series that I can truly lose myself in. It’s not wasting your life, it’s enhancing it. Giving you those little thrills, whether it’s enjoying something else’s romantic encounters, being on the edge of your seat with the thrills, or even feeling scared. When you can’t get out there yourself and experience these emotions it’s good to find them in other ways.