686 OUCH! MY LEG HURTS ... WHERE IS MY SMILE?

Though my mind can think, it does not want to 'create'

Why?

My leg hurts too much for
Memories to flow freely into a story line

This leg does not travel well

Meaning, I often have only one leg to stand on

Pain incurred in the aftermath of

Enjoying two trips in less than one week
Was subsiding, nicely, day by day, till yesterday, when

I thought myself ready to spend the afternoon

Out and about with dear friends

Who flew in from out of town

To have some fun in the sun

After dinner on a patio at a favorite restaurant

I asked to cancel our plan to indulge in gelato

Why?

Leg throbbing

Physical pain indicating change in original decision

So we came straight home

Why was that wise?

When physical pain is on the rise

I've learned how to take good care of myself

Upon piling up couch pillows and elevating leg

Conversation flowed back and forth in living room
Went to sleep hopeful, concerning tomorrow
Which is now, today

Darn it ... still throbbing, this morning ...

As I've been ultra careful over these past few days

It's truly surprising to have set myself back by so much

Thus, at this level of discomfort

I'll not join in while friends run around, today

As for dinner, tonight ... playing that by ear

Why?

In the long run, hope to make wise decisions

So as not to cause myself to be housebound, over long.

Good thing that after much consideration

And weeks of inner conflict

I'd made the difficult decision

Not to attend wedding in South Africa ...

Because everyone flies out, tomorrow

If asked why my decision
Not to celebrate half way across the world
Proved wise, though difficult, I'd reply:
Three trips within three weeks

With the third requiring traveling so far
Would have stretched my sense of reality
Much too far from clarity for my own good

As for right now, while writing this post
I can see clearly how that decision
Proved wise and difficult, simultaneously
And at this point in time

The fact that I am feeling wise about that decision
Helps to balance my disappointment of

Having had no clue of overdoing it, yesterday ...

Until heightened pain forced mind to refocus on reality

Once again, this business of refocusing emotional energy toward

Finding a way to bring myself to neutral can be far from easy
When I am in bed, missing out on fun with family or friends

So with thoughts of wisdom circling through my mind
Your friend, Annie, is less apt to
Rain negatively focused judgment upon my own head
And in this way do thoughts of wise decisions

Pump up my spirit when it's about to fall flat

As I've mentioned before
Experience has taught me to be my own cheerleader

At times when decisions that bench me

Are—my own

And with thoughts of consciously buoying my spirit

Here's a thought that's sure to deepen my smile

Grasping a full appreciation
For whatever time I can spend
With college friends, who chose to fly in

Proves to be just as comfy and cozy a way to buoy a sinking spirit

As immersing painful body parts into a warm bubble bath

One of these dear friends is a gastroenterologist
Who underwent two spine surgeries

Between November and now ...

At 6'3" he's had a hard time

Getting from a sitting position on our couch to standing up ...Ouch!

We've been laughing at being walking wounded comrades in arms

More reason to smile?

Dinner was superb

Mine?

Natural chicken (whatever that means?)
With slices of orange floating in au jus

Surrounded by

A medley of mushrooms, roasted, golden beets and snow peas ...

Yum!  Enough left over for me to enjoy, tonight

If I find myself not with friends
Winding pasta around forks at favorite Italian haunt

Thankfully, I have a net flicks copy of The Master

Which I've not had time to watch ...
(Somehow I find much to occupy my mind and time in bed) 

So I'll look forward to watching closely and listening openly
For insights injected into this story line
Concerning that which takes place
When we allow others to limit decisions

Which we'd be wise to choose for ourselves

And now that today's post has exemplified

How accustomed I've become

To participating in half of what most everyone can do ...

Perhaps your understanding concerning

My choice to focus on the positive may deepen, again

BTW ... if you happen to mull over my description of
Exactly what I ate for dinner you might find yourself asking ...

What makes Annie think I'd be interested in that?

Does she think I'm a foodie?

In truth, description of dinner slipped into post on its own ...
However, if we stop to think about it ...
Lots of foodies exist ...
Com'on—fess up—how many of us really love to eat!!  :)
Anyway, if we get back on topic ...
For the most part
I've learned to minimize emotional stress and strain
By taking steps to redirect my thoughts
And reroute decisions
In hopes of recovering as much control over pain ...
Which often proves simultaneously physical and psychological ...
So that when days like yesterday, pop up
Where life seems to usurp control over my well being
It's up to me to redirect my path toward
All aspects of good health as quickly as possible
And as physical and emotional health are known to intertwine
I find it wise to review yesterday's decisions
While injecting huge dollops of flexibility into my plan for today
Though I've said this before, let's review this insight again:
Repetition is not redundant when retention is our desired result
And as experience continues to offer me
Full knowledge of life's day-to-day unpredictability
I've absorbed the wisdom to make decisions, gracefully
Which had once maximized my stress
For example—I'd have been gnashing my teeth
At not joining my friends, today
I'd have worried over not writing a story for you
And as to missing a 'road trip' half way around the world ...
Don't even get me started!!!
So it's easy to see in hopes of minimizing stress
It's smart to remind myself that
If I aim to truly live one day at a time
Tis wise to accept today's bed bound state
Ever more graciously, ever less painfully
While hoping that today's decisions
Will offer up a feel-better tomorrow, all around :)
You see, tomorrow
We plan to visit a lovely resort
Where a sumptuous outdoor brunch may be enjoyed by all
Aha!  There it is, again!  Food! Glorious Food! :)
All kidding aside, when physical pain ascends this quickly
My choice is clear:
Spend today, alone with a grump
Or make the best of my lot and
Think of sound reasons to enhance my smile
PS
Riddle:
Why is it easier to ease a physical disability than an emotional disability?

With physical disability, pain points directly to changing our decisions in hopes of lessening distress.

With emotional disability, we mistakenly believe the decisions of others must change.

Generally, any who remain emotionally disabled, over long, are blind to the main root of a conflict.  With no clue as to how the emotionally disabled got on the wrong track, they end up lost in a maze of their mind's own making and that's where they'll stay, running round and round the main root of a conflict instead of aiming for the bulls eye ... and having been there, done that, thrice in my life, I believe the emotionally disabled, who can't see their way toward adjusting their own pathways of thought, are in need of compassionate help in a big way.

Mind you that when I say 'compassionate help' that's not to be confused with raining negative judgements down on sad or angry (blind-to-themselves) heads.  Each time negative judgments rain down on both sides, conflicts grow more difficult to simply, comprehend and resolve.

If you choose to take the high road and hope to remain on a solution seeking course, please pull over and absorb this simple Three Step Plan:

Take time out to redirect mind toward positive focus
Spit out every drop of arrogance as honestly as you can
Swallow humility, as gracefully as is humanly possible

As steps two and three are not easy ...
Cheer yourself forward by wishing yourself good luck :) :) :)  

Riddle:
What does stressed spell backward?

The answer to that puzzle is so easy, I'll leave it to you to figure out :)

And once you do, you'll see why I say ... everything leads back to Food!
Food for thought!
Food to nourish the body!
Chicken soup for the soul!
Ahhh!  That's better!
Smile retrieved!
Mission accomplished!
That's all folks!
Your friend,
:) Annie