Flexibility is Key—Creating with Chronic Illness

Happy New Year friends! I’ve been thinking about the importance of flexibility with chronic illness, especially when it comes to taking care of my health and making time for my creative pursuits.

January seems like the perfect month to share some updates, as well as what I’ve found helpful on my health journey recently. I hope these reflections are helpful for you too!  

I’m thrilled to be participating in A Chronic Voice’s link up again this month. This link up is a way for chronically ill bloggers to connect by writing posts based on the same prompts. I love the creative challenge offered by the prompts and seeing what others write!

The prompts for this month are Recuperating, Reversing, Dawning, Mapping, and Redefining.

This post contains affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Flexibility During Winter

Recuperating

I’m trying to get better at giving myself time and space to recuperate, even if I don’t feel like it’s making much of a difference. This time of year is so rough on my body, and even when I’m physically resting, I feel the pressure to being doing more. Giving myself grace and letting go of what I “should” be doing is one way I can do that.

I never feel like I can begin recuperating from fall and winter until around April or May. My body definitely prefers the warmer weather. This is a rarity in people with POTS, but I also have asthma, ME/CFS (myalgic encephalitis /chronic fatigue syndrome), and fibromyalgia. My pain, fatigue, and other symptoms are worse, so I’m listening to my body.

Sometimes recuperating looks like taking a break, like I took a break from blogging in November and December. At times, I think bloggers can feel pressure to keep advocating. But we also have to advocate for ourselves and protect our own health. I think this is a great opportunity to lead by example and show others that it’s okay to hit pause and put our own well being first.

Reversing

I seem to be doing things in reverse when it comes to my crafting. After Christmas, I find myself wanting to make Christmas cards again, even though it’s January! And I’m also thinking about Christmas gifts for my friends. In the months leading up to Christmas, I get all these great ideas for Christmas-themed projects, and I just never have the energy to make them all.

I always intend to get started on Christmas presents early, but this year, I’m hoping I can make it happen. Or at the very least, I can buy any craft supplies I need ahead of time. If I do that, I most definitely want to make a list of what I was planning to make for whom, so I don’t stash the supplies somewhere and forget about them.

Flexibility and Goals

Dawning

At the dawn of each new year, I like to take some time to reflect and write about the previous twelve months. The first thing I usually do is go through my reading journal and tally how many books I read. I was surprised to realize that I didn’t even do this last year—2021 got off to a rough start due to my health, and I wasn’t really into my normal new year ritual.

And that’s okay, it’s not something I want to pressure myself into doing. I’m just glad that this year I’m feeling more up to it. So I tallied the number of books I read (51!—See some of my favorites here!) and I’ll go back and make some notes on favorite things from the last year, things I learned, and things I achieved. I’ll also spend time praying about what word God is speaking over the new year.

On another note, it’s dawned on me recently that I need to take some time to invest in my love of writing. That might just look like checking out books from the library on the craft, or using some Christmas money on a class or webinar. I’ve hardly been able to do any creative writing the last several years, and I’ve had to cut back on how frequently I blogged.

I’ve realized that investing time and money learning about writing feels like a waste to me if I’m not using it right now. But I’m reminding myself that it’s not wasteful to invest in myself and what I love. And even if I can’t put what I learn into action yet, I can store up knowledge for the future. The thought of learning more makes me feel energized when it comes to my writing.

PS speaking of webinars, I’m looking forward to the virtual Diamonds Conference at the end of January. It’s free encouragement for chronically ill Christians and I highly recommend it!

Redefining

In addition to investing in my writing, I’m also redefining my writing goals…and how I respond to missing my goals.

Last year, I faced a lot of setbacks with my health. Not anticipating such a rough year, I set a big writing goal, outside of my blog. I didn’t finish it.And I felt so guilty. And so disappointed in myself. As the start of 2022 approached, I felt like I was a year behind, and these feelings were making me not even want to work towards this goal.

So I’m trying to define an uncompleted goal differently. I’m not a year behind—I’m a year wiser and a little more removed from my first draft. I’ll be able to look at what I’ve written so far with fresh eyes. And I didn’t fail—I did some editing last year, so I moved closer to my goal.

Here’s to celebrating progress and perseverance through a challenging year.

Party Planning as Creativity

 

Mapping

I’m planning my virtual birthday party for next month, which involves mapping out an escape room! Last year, I used an escape room kit to throw a 1920s Egyptology themed party, and it was so fun!

I got a second escape room kit free for writing a review, so I’m thrilled to be able to throw another virtual party this year. I’m keeping the bones of the escape room, but completely changing the aesthetic from gritty dystopian to colorful cyberpunk. I was going to play around and change some of the puzzles like I did last year, but I think I’ll keep things easier on myself and just change up the design.

Planning your own escape room? Check out the awesome escape room kits from Lock, Paper, Scissors. (affiliate link)

I love that a virtual event allows me an easier way to share my love of party planning! I’ll share after the party!

I hope you enjoyed reading these reflections on flexibility and creativity!

Be sure to check out what other bloggers wrote about these prompts.

 

Can you relate to the challenges of being flexible with chronic illness?
What are some goals you could adjust? What are some ways you’re nurturing your creativity?

 

You may also like:
My Link Up posts
Letting God Choose A Word For The Year
How To Set Writing Goals For The Year

 

Pin it: