I can’t believe we are just days away from the official release of Chronic Resilience. It is quite a wonderful whirlwind.
On Tuesday, I was doing an interview over the phone and I was asked a very important question, “What do you want readers to get from Chronic Resilience?”
It is the question I asked myself in March of 2011 when I sat down to begin writing. It took a full 13 months for the answer to come, but today I am absolutely certain about the #1 thing I hope Chronic Resilience does in your life.
photo credit: seyed mostafa zamani via photopin cc
There are lots (10 chapters worth) of insights in the book. There are small lessons, revelations, things I’ve done that I hope you avoid, processes, reflections, philosophies, to-dos, to-not-dos, and a host of stories. Of course I want you to find lots of things that resonate.
Yet, there is one major shift I hope the books makes in your life.
There are a lot of people out “there” saying illness is a manifestation of something that needs emotional or spiritual healing. This can, incorrectly, lead us to believe that illness is the result of a personal defect.
“Something bad happened, “ turns into “Something bad happened because I am bad.”
Guilt and shame go hand-in-hand with illness.
This was the space I lived in for many years. I wasn’t depressed, but I did search manically to heal pieces of myself that were never broken. I thought that if I could be unconditionally loving, if I could heal childhood wounds, if I could only think peaceful thoughts than my body would heal.
The stress form trying to heal myself put me on the kidney transplant list.
I was getting the wrong message, and I want you to get the right message.
You are OK, just as you are. You are OK with childhood wounds and occasional bouts of crying and missed days of meditation. Illness does not mean there is something wrong with you.
It means something entirely different.
The fact that you’re coping with an illness means that you’re a superhero. That is something to be proud of. You have found strength you didn’t know you had. You’ve dealt with annoying symptoms. You’ve navigated the tricky medical system. You’ve rerouted your plans. You’ve learned to adjust. You’ve had to be flexible. You are a rock star!!!
I want Chronic Resilience to show you just how amazing your are, right now, illness and all. I’ll give you the tools to smooth the rough patches out, but I’ll also tell you that you are a.m.a.z.i.n.g.
Illness is a bummer thing that happens sometimes to humans. It’s not a ‘you’ thing. It’s a human thing.
However you’re coping, in whatever ways you make it through the day, you are my hero! I wrote Chronic Resilience as a love letter just to tell you that. xo