It's always something

Do you ever feel like it's just "one thing after another?" Or have you heard yourself say, with some amount of sourness, "it's always something!"

Of course you have. You're human and all kinds of things happen in life.

(I hope you haven't felt like that recently.)

I found out last week that I have a fractured rib. I've been having significant pain on and off for a couple of weeks, and after a trip to the chiropractor (Dr. Al is the best), now I know why stretching and foam rolling have only made things worse.

And all of this from coughing!

In January I had a brutal cold/flu, which obviously came with a violent cough that, amazingly, cracked a rib.

I mean, really. I'm just feeling more myself after the wrist break, getting back into consistent movement and feeling stronger, and....now this.

And it's sooooo easy to go into this story of whine whine, why me, poor me, pouty face. And, believe me, I went there for a minute.

Thank goodness for friends who listen to whining and also trust that "this too shall pass."

And thank goodness for you!  A story from one of you came to mind: a student who was just back to class after throwing her back out shared about her recovery with me.

In desperation, she got online to see if she could find advice on how to deal with the level of pain.

She found an article that talked specifically about back pain. In it, she read what turned out to be her healing mantra:

It will get better.

The article acknowledged that when we have back pain, it takes over and we imagine being in pain for the rest of our lives. It's hard to remember what it was like before the pain, or imagine a future time when we are pain free.

We are afraid it will always be this way.

She said that one line -- it will get better -- was like a light in the tunnel. She used it as a mantra to help get through the days, and eventually it did get better.

Pain is like this. Grief is like this. Loneliness is like this. Illness is like this.

The beautiful thing is, we have stories - our own and others' - that help remind and soothe; we have each other to lean on; we can remember that there's a bigger picture.

I share my story in case the reminder is helpful for you; much like that student's story is my teacher now.

My mantra in this moment is:

It won't always be this way.
This is how things are...right now.
All things change and pass.

Tell me -- how's your year going? Do you have a mantra for tough times?

With the coming spring as our inspiration, I hope things are well for you.

Love,
Michelle

Michelle Marlahan
Where Self Care becomes Soul Care

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