What a holiday we’ve had..

Despite Fibromyalgia hitching a ride

It’s summer here and we’ve been lucky enough to travel round the South Island of New Zealand in our van. If you don’t know this part of the world then I highly recommend Googling some images. It’s phenomenally gorgeous (no bias at all!!) This holiday has been a while in the making – we needed to plan for it to be a success with some extra travellers on board – Fibromyalgia and chronic pain.

The van isn’t fancy, but the bed is super comfy (a non-negotiable requirement for my Fibro body) and we really enjoyed living a simpler life for a few weeks, with our only agenda being to see amazing places, walk when we could, & chill out!

And I felt great! And by great I mean my cup was stuffed full to overflowing with great experiences I could turn to when I was in pain after a big day (inevitable – but worth it!) and (crucially) after life kicked in when we returned.

I’m back at work now and I need that holiday feeling more than ever.

On my return home I found myself thinking – how can I keep this feeling? – relaxed, carefree, able to handle the days when I’m in pain or the stresses of life weigh heavy on me.

It occurs to me that what happens on holiday – especially one like ours which was so visually mind blowing – is that life grows bigger – even if the pain does not get smaller. Bear with me..

I have some great images to replay in my head for when I need them.

I can recreate that holiday feeling in my imagination WHENEVER I LIKE!  Looking out of the van from my bed, relaxing in a soothing mineral pool, the beauty and wildlife that surrounded us – I have lots to draw on now. And thanks to my daughter getting us a digital photo frame for Xmas I see my photos every single day and remember the feeling that I had when I was there.

Keep the holiday feeling

The key to our holiday success was less! It was a simpler life for the weeks we were away with less stress and less things to do. We weren’t rushing and had very few deadlines. I slept for longer and soundly, and read 4 books!

The optimal word here is LESS – and that’s the holiday feeling I’m trying to keep.

Simplifying life. Checking in every day to make sure I’m not overdoing it and that I’ve put some joy in my day to make sure that LIFE is bigger than PAIN. We can’t always ditch our responsibilities but we can make choices about what is most important to us to do and not do.

So, if you are to take one thing away from my experience I’d like it to be this

Even if you are not able to have a holiday right now or any time soon – I’d like you to close your eyes and imagine a place you have loved, that has made you feel relaxed, at peace – somewhere you can return to in your mind when times are tough.

You don’t need to strive all the time

Doing less of the ‘shoulds’ and a little more of what makes you feel good is a great place to start.

I’m here for you. Take care!

Deb

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