Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

  Let's get real today!  Be genuine and authentic. Speak truthfully, wholeheartedly with intention. If you're a spoonie, you probably know where I'm heading. If you're not. Pull up a seat, sit down and join the conversation. There’s a lot here to unpack. Ok, my question today, if you're dealing with any form of chronic illness, is this. How do you deal with family, trolls or outside influences who call you a phoney? Every spoonie has a muggle in their life or two or three even who invalidates their illness.Those who make it abundantly clear you're putting on an act.  You don’t even have to think about it. Names are already coming to mind, aren’t they? Let’s face it, you know the drill. It's an old routine and we all know how it goes…You need attention. You're dramatic. There’s nothing wrong with you. Oh and my personal favorite....you're faking it.  These kinds of people can’t grasp how you can actually be THAT sick, at all. I mean, come on. You don...

  “Sometimes in the waves of change we find our true direction.” ~ Unknown    We’ve all heard the story of Jonah. He ran from God and ended up in the belly of a whale. Not exactly the posh uptown condo one might daydream about, right? Sounds more like a slippery, sloppy, messy and muddy ordeal to be honest. If not damp, mucky and downright terrifying to boot. I don’t know about you but the idea of being swallowed whole by anything is alarming. No less by a monstrous whale with jagged teeth. Yet, despite our best efforts, we all end up inside the belly of a whale at some time or another.    Why? Because we run. Fear takes the wheel and steers us right into the mouth of an angry, hungry whale. What was it Herman Melville said? Oh yes. “Ignorance is the parent of fear.” He sure had that right. I mean by the time regret catches up with us, we’re the proud parents, if not grandparents of a hopping mad, agitated litter of feral changelings we don’t recognize. ...

  "When you have a rare disease you face two battles. One being the illness itself. And the other, living in a world where so few people understand what you're up against." ~ Unknown.  Let's talk about perception, reality and chronic illness.   Can we just be honest? Let all the pretense go? Chronic illness is one of those things that most people don’t ”get” till they “get it”. And let’s be brutally blunt now. What so folks think they know isn't always what's actually going on. You know what's happening to your body. I mean it's happening whether you like it or not, right? Yeah, you know. And your doctor knows but  there's a particular kind of person whose perception doesn't quite match our reality. Whatever your real life is doesn't hold water in their eyes. You're making it up. Being dramatic. You just need attention. And sadly, that becomes the narrative.  I don't know why so many folks these days feel they’re adept at diagnosing...

You don’t end up with a meaningful life, you create it.” ~ Unknown      What is it about change that frightens us so much? Why does the evolution of our lives bring so much panic and dread? And how is it we crave this marvelous metamorphosis in our lives but can’t face the transformation process needed to make it possible?  I mean we all want meaningful, relevant and purpose driven lives, right? At some point most of us wish upon a star. Longing for something better. Dreaming and hoping for the beauty, grace, and prestige of being a butterfly. But sadly, we rarely understand the suffering, struggle or disruption required to sprout those wings, do we?     In nearly 50 years I’ve had to grapple with change over and over again. And like it not, for life to get better, it requires change. You know what that means. Hate it, love it, ignore it, or flat out run from it, change is essential. Change is how we learn, how we grow and how we eventually spread...

“We cannot selectively numb emotions. When we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.” ~ Brene Brown Let’s be honest, Christmas can be difficult. Gathering with family can be both rewarding and trying. Finding the perfect gift only to find it’s the wrong size or color can be downright frustrating. And if you’re struggling financially, gifts under the tree can feel elusive at best. Throw in different personalities, tastes and opinions and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.  Face it, the holiday season can be complicated if not exhausting and overstimulating.  For most folks it’s the most wonderful, magical time of the year but for others, it can be the toughest. Christmastime is a mixture of comfort and cheer, and heartbreak and hardship. And as much as we want it to be nothing but merry and bright, this time of year can turn gloomy and dark quickly. I suppose it all depends on which side the coin lands on. And without our consent, Sadnes...

“Behind her smile, there is a story you would never understand.” ~ Unknown I’ll be writing my own fairytale today…Yes you heard me correctly. For years I’ve been writing stories. Piecing each one together through old familiar tales. Today however, the tides have changed. And I think it’s time I tell my fairytale. In my own words, unapologetically.  First of all any good southern fairytale begins like this…. Y'all ain't gonna believe this ….And the truth is you might not, but that’s not my job. The task before me as a writer is simply to tell the story. Your position as a reader is to listen and then to decide which path you’ll take once I’ve finished my tale.  So shall we take take this leap together then? Are you ready? Are you sure? Alright. Close your eyes. Hold tight.  Here we go…. I was raised by Southern standards. Say what you will, horse feather or not, growing up southern has a charm all its own. Now the truth is I’m a bit old fas...