Day 13 Health Awareness Blog: 10 Things I Couldn't Live Without

Today's writing prompt is  asking me to write about the ten things I couldn't live without. Things. People are not things, so I'll start this list by saying that the people in my life are much more important than the things. I could do without everything as long as I could keep my husband, children and grandchildren in my life. There are many other people in my life who bring me pleasure - friends, colleagues, relatives and acquaintances, but they are not an essential life source for me as my family is. Love is a powerful resource, reciprocal at its best, and devastating if lost.

Love is not a thing ... it's an idea, an emotion, a state of being, a quest, and a gift. I could not live without the love of my family.

Health is not a thing: it is a state of being, but perceived differently by individuals. I have a strong label on my medical folders: multiple sclerosis. It carries with it a prognosis unknown, with the bleakest projections far away on the spectrum from the mildest, benign end. End, you say? There is no end to a spectrum. And if you believe that, then both ends are equally infinite, and the darkest belief is balanced by the brightest.

If this is to be a bucket list of sorts ... the ten things I could not live without ... I really have to play with the word things, because what I could not live without are intangible ideas or states of being. there is nothing tangible on my list:

1. love: to be loved, and to love in return,
2. self worth: a belief that I can love and be loved
3. competence: being able to provide what I can do to better the states of others
4. compassion: to receive compassion and to feel compassion for others
5. understanding: a set of knowledge and an awareness of what that knowledge might provide
6. appreciation: for those I love, for the world of nature in which we live, for air, food, water and shelter
7.  courage: to face whatever obstacles stand in the way of those I love
8. will: to overcome those obstacles despite whatever personal challenges I feel at the time
9. success: as defined for myself, and as recognized by those I love, and in those I love
10. self-confidence: to allow myself to speak up for those I love, and for myself.

Are these 'things' that I expect to be given? No. They are emotions, beliefs, values and goals that I have accepted and sought in my life. They are what I have lived, and have tried to model for those I love, that they, too, can live such a life ... where material things have less value, less importance, and are less essential than the way we can live, with whatever we have, wherever we are, and whoever we will be, with and for each other.

Does this list negate the existence or importance of a spiritual belief? Does it neglect homage to a superior being? Does it remove the obligation of duty to a religious belief? Does it place us above a God?

If in reading this list, one is discomforted by the absence of a deity in name, then one is missing all that lies between the lines. Hindus, Taoists and Buddhists recognize the existence of the greatest spirit within ourselves and each other. Their greeting, Namaste, expresses this belief, this recognition, and this humility. Isn't it hubris, you might ask, to assume that the greatest deity resides within us? Humble may be the word ... no one of us is any better, nor any less, than any other of us. "The divine within me recognizes and bows to the divine within you."  What a powerful message to share with everyone in your life ... those you love ... those you dislike ... those you fear ... those you feel responsible toward ...  Namaste is the great equalizer. It is a word that challenges each of us to be worthy, to be better, to be as loving and compassionate a provider as we may have been taught to believe that God is.

Namaste, my friend. I trust that you understand my writings. They are written from within, with love.

Day 6 of the HAWMC writing prompts: Haiku

Today's prompt is to write a haiku, a 5-7-5 poem. Haiku's are generally about nature, with a final line that leaves a lasting image with the reader (or listener.) I am sitting here, wondering how to link the themes of nature and health. It will not be hard, healthy choices are all part of our natural world. If I do it right, it will offer positive wisdom you can keep. Writing a Haiku takes a little planning but will be worth the time. Holding to just three lines of nature's symmetry: that will be our task. It need not be hard; nature offers so many patterns we can view. Make the healthy choice, share in Nature's abundance and reap the rewards!

I am sitting here,
wondering how to link the themes
of nature and health.

 It will not be hard,
healthy choices are all part
of our natural world.

 If I do it right,
it will offer positive
wisdom you can keep .

Writing a Haiku
 takes a little planning but
 will be worth the time.

 Holding to just three
 lines of nature's symmetry
that will be our task

 It need not be hard,
nature offers so many
 patterns we can view.

 Make the healthy choice,
 share in Nature's abundance
 and reap her rewards!


For the month of April, in honor of my mother's birthday, I've renewed the discount at CreateSpace for Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma. To receive 35% off the regular price, go to this link:

https://www.createspace.com/3711313 

and enter this discount code at the checkout: VXXURQMH

February Gift Discount, and a Rachel Abbot Novel

Multiple Sclerosis never stops

 This is a video of a multiple sclerosis  patient's brain scans taken each month in Germany. It shows the continuing damage to the brain. The overall size of the brain is affected by the damage as well.

Book Review: Only the Innocent, by Rachel Abbot

  Only the Innocent, by Rachel Abbot

Rachel Abbott has written an incredible story with many layers of mystery. The tale is of a young successful woman who captures the eye of a well known philanthropist and suddenly finds herself awaiting her wedding day with understandable anticipation. This cultured gentleman insists on handling all of the details for the ceremony and reception, which invites early disapproval from Laura's mother.

Seeing this as a step up in class, Laura struggles to accept her new husband's polite insistence on controlling every aspect of her life - something girls are now taught in school to recognize as a form of bullying. Laura is isolated from her family and former co-workers, a classic sign of an abusive relationship.(The material may not be age-appropriate for young adolescents, but may be very helpful for high school students' discussions.)

The vibrant beauty and personality of Laura gradually diminishes, the result of doubting her ability to make cultured choices. Her sadness is fed by his expressions of disappointment in her each time she attempts to assert her own styles and preferences.

The story takes a sharp turn from sadly struggling with lowered self esteem to fearful submission to a recognized danger, and a frightening assumption exposed as truth.

Rachel Abbot's story will leave you with haunting memories of characters unseen in the public eye, with empathy for the women who try to make the best of a marriage, and with recognition that everyone has a back story to their lives ... Her description of settings is masterful, her characters have depth, and the story line is a watercolor image of sadness leading to strength. I look forward to more of Rachel Abbot's writing. 

Rachel has recently begun a website about her book, where she has provided maps and still photos of Laura's journey through the book. Visit and enjoy at: Rachel's interactive travel site.

February Book Discount: Go to CreateSpace to enter the discount code ND67VUCJ and you will receive a 50% price discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma. This offer expires at the end of February, so don't wait too long to order your copy of my book!

Related articles

• Starting Your Novel (herstorycalls.com)