Stories of life, faith, singleness and chronic illness
Where do we find abundant life in lockdown in the midst of a global pandemic? What does abundant life even look like in this situation? Is it possible? On Wednesday evening my church had a reflective service (on Zoom, of course!) of words and music in which we thought about the story of the Wedding … Continue reading Abundant Life?
Sometimes, in my dreams, I can climb mountains, go walking, see those near, yet distant places, I hear about from friends of which I can only dream. * Sometimes, in my dreams, I go to a supermarket and dance down the aisles with joy that I can choose for myself what food I would like … Continue reading Sometimes
It is forty five days since another human being touched me. Six weeks and three days. I am alone, but I am not alone in this. Many of us who are home alone during this lockdown are counting the days since we last touched another person, and comparing, and wondering when we will next be allowed … Continue reading Home Alone
As proof that I am truly in tune with the zeitgeist, on the very same day that I am returning to this blog to finish and publish it (having had to abandon it to rest my eyes for ten days), Frances Ryan has published a piece in The Guardian on the same theme: Covid lockdown … Continue reading Opportunity Knocks
Who do you think you are? I wrote most of this last summer, some of it taken from an article I wrote in 2004, and a later assignment on the impact of chronic illness on identity and the sense of self which I wrote for my MA in counselling in 2009. Somehow last summer the … Continue reading Who do you think you are? (Identity)
When I posted my poem last week about grieving as things are lost and life changes dramatically, a friend wrote: ‘You must be thinking, “Welcome to my world”’. Well yes… and also no (but we’ll leave the ‘no’ for now). These next weeks will be a big change in lifestyle for many who find themselves … Continue reading Welcome to My World
For those facing two weeks in isolation, or twelve weeks mostly stuck at home, or a lifetime of chronic illness...***** It is ok to grieve It is ok to grieve,to mourn the small things and the large: to shed your tears for cancelled plans and missed events, as well as jobs, or people, lost; for … Continue reading It is ok to grieve
Apologies for the long silence. I have been writing a Lent course... I set my timer for 30 minutes, knowing that this is my limit for sitting up, looking at a screen, writing - aided by a neck brace and blue-light-filtering glasses - without repercussions which will prevent me doing anything else for the rest … Continue reading Writing a Lent Course
This is the equivalent of what The Guardian calls ‘The Long Read’. Apologies! I never intended to write a medical blog but so many people had so many questions about my recent diagnoses and how they came about that it seemed easiest to answer them all together in a narrative which makes some kind of … Continue reading I Told You My Neck Hurt!
‘I can only ever be resilient if I’m allowed to fall apart and not cope in the times when I can’t cope…most of the time I reckon we just need lots of hugs.’ Words of wisdom from my friend Tanya Marlow, a writer and fellow ME sufferer, in a Facebook comment, June 2019. You can … Continue reading Rising (I will go on)
Dancing in the Dark 