I've been struggling with getting down to writing and taking photographs (the latter always being my refuge when the going gets tough) for a while. Shame has been like a gargoyle with its nails permanently in my back whispering cruel nothings in my ear and nothing has felt right or good. My experience of living with chronic illness continues to be both terrifying as well as a total and utter bore. It still amazes me that on my worst days, the ones where I find it hard to get out of bed or leave the flat, I can still find a surprising amount of energy for determined self-loathing. A lot of it evolves around what I think I should be doing, what I used to do and what a miserable and useless person I am for not being able to live life the way I used to. The 'Should Monster' comes to haunt me on my most fragile days telling me that even ill I should be jolly, invincible, tirelessly creative and above all not ever make a fuss. As a good friend said to me recently 'Sometimes being positive is just not the appropriate response.' I know she's right of course but daily I want to live 'normally', whatever the heck that actually means.
It's Saturday night and I'm in my pyjamas and a fleece dressing gown that feels like wearing a top to toe hug from a teddy bear. I'm listening to some Latin Jazz and have finally got down to letting my fingers dance over the keyboard. So, what happened to finally get me here ? This afternoon I spent a few hours in some gentle and generous company at TheWhatWorks residency, a creative adventure utilising the Open Space model. Put simply, in a creative context, this allows for flow and participants are encouraged to move from activity to activity if they want to, (or stay in one place if that works for them). Nothing is wrong. Anything can happen. That in itself is liberating and goes against a lot of the hierarchical teachings we have had bestowed on us since childhood. Because my energy is low I could only stay for a few hours but it was well worth it. I learnt about rhizomatic theory which, in a few short moments, was like coming up for air after living for years underground.
I cannot pretend I know anything about the complexities of this theory however the image of a plant's roots spreading horizontally just under the top of layer of soil struck a chord and reminded me that not everything has to be about the giddy ascent Capitalism preaches. That, and my 'go to' healing spice as Autumn approaches, is the much-loved rhizome Ginger, had me thinking that perhaps giving up 'normal' was the way to get the monster off my back at last.
As I have said I've been feeling pretty appalling recently. Health and housing issues have destabilised me. At least these current roadblocks have allowed me to observe something about myself - when I am at my most vulnerable I am most inclined to punish myself with ideas of conforming to a fictional ideal. Here's my list of what living with long-term illness continues to teach me, even as I resist it. And why giving up 'normal' can be a great thing to do if you feel like a hair-raising skydive in to the unchartered parts of yourself.
In fact that's the first - I can't shy away from myself. Illness strips me to the core. I am beginning to find out who I am, at last. - And that has had a massive impact on all my relationships. Some have withered whilst other relationships have grown and become more intimate. All of them have changed. - I am learning that sometimes the only response is to do nothing, that I have to 'let it' whatever that is. Even the agony is more tolerable if I stop looking for ways to fix it. - The outcome is always uncertain, we all live in the 'I don't know what the future holds' however much we try to run from this. - That whenever I trust my inner voice things are so much easier to deal with. In fear I often lose contact with this voice and everything goes haywire. - And what does my intuition tell me - pretty much always the same thing, to be kind and gentle and forgiving of myself, even those parts I feel I cannot forgive. It says love myself and to remain present.
I cannot state this enough. Be kind and gentle to yourself and remain present, always.
