As I scroll through my news feed, I notice some who are "getting active" and "getting fit" as well as winning awards for doing so.
Their award may be for winning a race, for something as simple as having their participation acknowledged or it may be for something in between.
Their commentary is very clear. All one needs is motivation to get up off that couch.
Plain and simple - Motivation is all that stands in the way.
Their subsequent message insinuates those who do not get up off that couch, lack motivation and are, well -- just plain lazy.
As a person with chronic illness, one who used to be very active before chronic illness, this mindset frustrates me, on so many levels.
When one "gives" (relatively speaking) a small portion out of their abundance -- whether we're talking money, time, energy or any other commodity -- they're still left with more than enough to cover all the other aspects of their lives. In this case, we're talking energy and the energy they give, is a small piece of the proverbial energy pie. There is more than enough left over to do their job, look after the demands of their family and their house, for a social life, for doing their hobbies -- the list goes on. If this was illustrated as a pie chart, the exercise "slice" would be a small portion of the pie.
For those with ME/CFS or other chronic illness however, not getting up off the couch to take part in these activities has nothing to do with laziness, lack of motivation or anything else along these lines. These folks would give anything to be able to get up off the couch, to enter such races, to do anything for that matter. They struggle every day to do what they need to do, just to get through their daily lives. They don't give out of our abundance, they give out of our lack.
The first group, the one always acknowledged and awarded, give out of their abundance.
The second group, the one labelled as lazy and unmotivated, give out of their shortage.
It's easy to give when you have lots, but not so easy when you have nothing or little.
So why, I wonder, do we award the first group while not even acknowledging the second group? Relatively speaking, the second group gives far more on so many levels.
The folks I know with chronic illness, fight every single day of their life. They fight to learn as much as they can about their illness and how to improve their health, sometimes going backward instead of forward as a result of using energy they didn't have. They fight to find Doctors who will believe them and listen to them. They fight their illness just to do basic things and get through their daily lives. Then they fight the next day, to do the very same thing all over again.
I would like everyone in this second group to know, you are *my* inspiration. When I'm having a bad day, I only have to look to you. You are the motivators and the encouragers. You are the true fighters and represent real strength. I get so much inspiration from all of you to carry on, to keep on fighting. I know you're not recognized for this and are most often wrongly labelled as lazy and unmotivated. I know you give out of your lack not your abundance and if I could, would award each of you.
The best I can do however, is acknowledge each of you and dedicate this blog post to all of you. Please know, you're not lazy or unmotivated. You are celebrated, appreciated and looked up to, more than you will ever know!!
Their award may be for winning a race, for something as simple as having their participation acknowledged or it may be for something in between.
Their commentary is very clear. All one needs is motivation to get up off that couch.
Plain and simple - Motivation is all that stands in the way.
Their subsequent message insinuates those who do not get up off that couch, lack motivation and are, well -- just plain lazy.
As a person with chronic illness, one who used to be very active before chronic illness, this mindset frustrates me, on so many levels.
When one "gives" (relatively speaking) a small portion out of their abundance -- whether we're talking money, time, energy or any other commodity -- they're still left with more than enough to cover all the other aspects of their lives. In this case, we're talking energy and the energy they give, is a small piece of the proverbial energy pie. There is more than enough left over to do their job, look after the demands of their family and their house, for a social life, for doing their hobbies -- the list goes on. If this was illustrated as a pie chart, the exercise "slice" would be a small portion of the pie.
For those with ME/CFS or other chronic illness however, not getting up off the couch to take part in these activities has nothing to do with laziness, lack of motivation or anything else along these lines. These folks would give anything to be able to get up off the couch, to enter such races, to do anything for that matter. They struggle every day to do what they need to do, just to get through their daily lives. They don't give out of our abundance, they give out of our lack.
The first group, the one always acknowledged and awarded, give out of their abundance.
The second group, the one labelled as lazy and unmotivated, give out of their shortage.
It's easy to give when you have lots, but not so easy when you have nothing or little.
So why, I wonder, do we award the first group while not even acknowledging the second group? Relatively speaking, the second group gives far more on so many levels.
The folks I know with chronic illness, fight every single day of their life. They fight to learn as much as they can about their illness and how to improve their health, sometimes going backward instead of forward as a result of using energy they didn't have. They fight to find Doctors who will believe them and listen to them. They fight their illness just to do basic things and get through their daily lives. Then they fight the next day, to do the very same thing all over again.
I would like everyone in this second group to know, you are *my* inspiration. When I'm having a bad day, I only have to look to you. You are the motivators and the encouragers. You are the true fighters and represent real strength. I get so much inspiration from all of you to carry on, to keep on fighting. I know you're not recognized for this and are most often wrongly labelled as lazy and unmotivated. I know you give out of your lack not your abundance and if I could, would award each of you.
The best I can do however, is acknowledge each of you and dedicate this blog post to all of you. Please know, you're not lazy or unmotivated. You are celebrated, appreciated and looked up to, more than you will ever know!!
An award for all of those who continue to fight on
in order to keep
Balance....Despite the Chaos!
in order to keep
Balance....Despite the Chaos!
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