I Meet Challenges with Grace

Woman Wearing Black and Red Dress Holding Sword Standing on Rock Surface during Day Time
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I finally got around to printing and cutting out the 60+ affirmations that I compiled earlier this year. Sure, some may consider affirmations to be hokey, along with witchcraft, but that’s not my view. As I have been on my journey of rebirth, new things are appealing and call out to me. While I am fortunate to have lived so many different lives, the one that is currently in my path is not one that I would have expected or chosen for myself. However, there are times and circumstances that are out of your control. I had my life lined up and was working towards my well-established goal. I did all of the coursework, attended my residencies, changed my degree, then graduated with my MS degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in applied research. Research was what made my brain light up and become flooded with all of those feel good chemicals. I was working towards my goal of becoming a principal investigator (PI) and lead my own research studies in an attempt at helping people figure themselves out and to find a better way to live.

The same year that I graduated I experienced a significant decrease in my mental and physical health. I had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and small fiber neuropathy, but those didn’t seem to make sense when lined up with my symptoms. I kept trying my best at my coursework, my work as a freelance writer, managing five dogs and one sassy turtle, as well as trying to settle in after moving to a different state with less than a month to find a place and move. I guess looking at it now, there were some reasons as to why I kept feeling run down, anxious, depressed, suicidal, and in so much pain on a constant basis that no medication seemed to touch. It was also a haunted former meth lab that wasn’t remediated correctly (or at all!), so that may have something to do with how I was feeling too.

Photo of Pathway Surrounded By Fir Trees
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I certainly have had a few challenges along the way to where I am currently. Have I mastered handling them with grace? HA! No, not yet. However, it is a concept that is able to be tested on a regular basis, as life has a funny way of throwing you challenges that you don’t see a way through, but with determination and a touch of stubborn anger, these mountains can be overcome. It just takes time, effort, and, well, grace.

Location: Durango, CO, USA

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