Today's challenge is to describe something sensory with as much imagery as I can. Mindfulness is "an attentive awareness of the reality of things (especially of the present moment)."
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| Van Gogh's Starry Night |
Finding joy in the journey.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
HAWMC Prompt 17: Mindful Moment
I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (HAWMC) in April.
Today's challenge is to describe something sensory with as much imagery as I can. Mindfulness is "an attentive awareness of the reality of things (especially of the present moment)."
The soft breeze brushes across my face, as I lounge in an open field below the blanket of stars in the night sky. Looking up at the heavens, surrounded only by the beauty of nature, allows me to spend precious time alone with my Lord. And, for those moments, I feel peace.
Today's challenge is to describe something sensory with as much imagery as I can. Mindfulness is "an attentive awareness of the reality of things (especially of the present moment)."
Saturday, April 16, 2011
HAWMC Prompt 16: Report This
I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (HAWMC) in April.
Today's challenge is to: write a blog where you wake up, it's some day in the future, and your condition has been cured. You heard right: cured. And you've been chosen to cover the breaking news. It's your big break: write the Press Release, interview the cure-founder, or visit the discovery site where patients everywhere are flocking to get in line.
I've been thinking about this prompt for quite a while, and I have to admit that I'm having trouble with it. I really don't like the term "cure." Since there is no cure for Migraine, I'm just having a difficult time making myself even think about it... much less, make light of it by writing a pretend press release. So, I'm going to pass on today's prompt.
I truly hope that there will one day be a cure for Migraine.
Today's challenge is to: write a blog where you wake up, it's some day in the future, and your condition has been cured. You heard right: cured. And you've been chosen to cover the breaking news. It's your big break: write the Press Release, interview the cure-founder, or visit the discovery site where patients everywhere are flocking to get in line.
I truly hope that there will one day be a cure for Migraine.
Friday, April 15, 2011
HAWMC Prompt 15: Two Sentence Story
I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (HAWMC) in April.
Today's challenge is to write a story with a beginning, middle, and end in only two sentences. The purpose of this prompt is to work on being more concise and purposeful with our narratives.
Today's challenge is to write a story with a beginning, middle, and end in only two sentences. The purpose of this prompt is to work on being more concise and purposeful with our narratives.
After years of unending pain, failed treatments, lost relationships, and mounting frustration; she feels overpowered by the invisible illness that has slowly taken over her life and strangled her dreams. But, amidst all the uncertainty, she continues to face each day with as much faith and confidence as she can, because she has a loving man by her side that encourages her to remain hopeful and continue striving for new dreams.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
HAWMC Prompt 14: Poem of Misconceptions
I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (HAWMC) in April.
Today's challenge is to write a poem (5-10 lines) where every line is a lie or misconception about your health condition.
Today's challenge is to write a poem (5-10 lines) where every line is a lie or misconception about your health condition.
A migraine is just a bad headacheThese are just some of the misconceptions about Migraine.
that is only experienced by women.
All migraines have the same symptoms,
and any doctor can diagnose and treat them.
Migraines cannot be dangerous,
and can only happen in adults, not children.
The cause of migraine is known,
including mental illness and physical exertion.
There is a cure migraine -
just rest and take some medication.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
HAWMC Prompt 13: Comfort One Another
I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (HAWMC) in April.
Today's challenge is a meditation on naming blog posts. Pick up a book and choose a phrase or sentence at random - make that the name of today's blog post. I've had a pretty wicked migraine all day, so I'm not sure how coherent this post will end up (please accept this as my warning... and apology).
"Comfort One Another" - Stories of Prayer for a Healthy Soul, Compiled by Christine Anderson (Phyllis Hobe, page 54)
In a society that increasingly encourages independence, it's important to remember that we're here on this earth to offer companionship, comfort, and encouragement to one another... we need each other.
For those of us that live with chronic illness, we need to remember several things. Comfort and encouragement can be found within one's family or circle of friends; but these dynamics often change, when someone becomes chronically ill. Comfort can be sought from one's local community - through church, support groups, hobby classes, etc...
I've found that, for me, some of the most needed comfort and encouragement, though, has come from the online blogging community. Being able to interact and communicate with others that have chronic pain allows for a special bond to be formed, a bond of understanding that is difficult to form otherwise. Each person is able to give however and whatever they're able to, and feel comfortable asking for comfort and encouragement from others (asking for help can be a bit more difficult, see Help: A Four-Letter Word).
There are so many different avenues to both give and receive comfort and encouragement to others. Even though I'm in my home much of the time, I can do things online, send cards, make phone calls (my migraines limit these), and pray.
"Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Today's challenge is a meditation on naming blog posts. Pick up a book and choose a phrase or sentence at random - make that the name of today's blog post. I've had a pretty wicked migraine all day, so I'm not sure how coherent this post will end up (please accept this as my warning... and apology).
"Comfort One Another" - Stories of Prayer for a Healthy Soul, Compiled by Christine Anderson (Phyllis Hobe, page 54)
In a society that increasingly encourages independence, it's important to remember that we're here on this earth to offer companionship, comfort, and encouragement to one another... we need each other.
For those of us that live with chronic illness, we need to remember several things. Comfort and encouragement can be found within one's family or circle of friends; but these dynamics often change, when someone becomes chronically ill. Comfort can be sought from one's local community - through church, support groups, hobby classes, etc...
I've found that, for me, some of the most needed comfort and encouragement, though, has come from the online blogging community. Being able to interact and communicate with others that have chronic pain allows for a special bond to be formed, a bond of understanding that is difficult to form otherwise. Each person is able to give however and whatever they're able to, and feel comfortable asking for comfort and encouragement from others (asking for help can be a bit more difficult, see Help: A Four-Letter Word).
There are so many different avenues to both give and receive comfort and encouragement to others. Even though I'm in my home much of the time, I can do things online, send cards, make phone calls (my migraines limit these), and pray.
"Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
HAWMC Prompt 12: Ekphrasis
I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (HAWMC) in April.
Today's challenge is to write an Ekphrasis (writing about another art form). It gives life to a piece of art through storytelling. So, I am to find a photograph online that inspires me in some way (positively or negatively), and then free write about it for exactly 15 minutes without stopping. Brave bonus: Publish your free writing without editing!
This photograph captivates me. It depicts so many different emotions, all in the same photo... in the same person. I often find myself feeling so many different things at one time, or in quick succession.
Crying out, "Why?!" I've asked and pleaded this numerous times. I don't understand why things happen. I know that I'm not meant to, and that God will show me in His time; but I am human and I feel the urge to know "why." Why was I in that car accident? Why did I have to be in that exact place at that exact time? Why did one moment in time cause so much pain and change my life forever? Why can't I come to terms with and accept things as they are now? Why? Why? WHY?!
But, as I cry out to the Lord and string together an endless line of questions, I find myself trying to open up to receive His love and peace. It is in the moments of darkness that I realize how much I need the light. I spread my arms open wide and look up toward the Heavens, toward my Savior. He is the only one that understands. He is the only one that knows the answers that my heart and my soul long for. He is the only one that can offer me true healing and peace. He is what my heart and soul desire.
I long for the freedom to stand out on a bluff near the ocean, with the breeze gently brushing across my face. Just to spend time alone in nature. A brief reprieve from the day-to-day worries, stresses, pain, etc... What I would give to be able to enjoy some time alone, just the breeze and me.
Today's challenge is to write an Ekphrasis (writing about another art form). It gives life to a piece of art through storytelling. So, I am to find a photograph online that inspires me in some way (positively or negatively), and then free write about it for exactly 15 minutes without stopping. Brave bonus: Publish your free writing without editing!
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| Photo by ashley rose |
Crying out, "Why?!" I've asked and pleaded this numerous times. I don't understand why things happen. I know that I'm not meant to, and that God will show me in His time; but I am human and I feel the urge to know "why." Why was I in that car accident? Why did I have to be in that exact place at that exact time? Why did one moment in time cause so much pain and change my life forever? Why can't I come to terms with and accept things as they are now? Why? Why? WHY?!
But, as I cry out to the Lord and string together an endless line of questions, I find myself trying to open up to receive His love and peace. It is in the moments of darkness that I realize how much I need the light. I spread my arms open wide and look up toward the Heavens, toward my Savior. He is the only one that understands. He is the only one that knows the answers that my heart and my soul long for. He is the only one that can offer me true healing and peace. He is what my heart and soul desire.
I long for the freedom to stand out on a bluff near the ocean, with the breeze gently brushing across my face. Just to spend time alone in nature. A brief reprieve from the day-to-day worries, stresses, pain, etc... What I would give to be able to enjoy some time alone, just the breeze and me.
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