Urban Dictionary defines an optimistic realist as “Someone who is able to look at the positive side of life while maintaining a realistic viewpoint. People sometimes confuse my realist outlook for pessimism because I always want to understand the worst case scenario. That doesn’t mean I am resigned to accepting the bad. It means I…
Death By Bad Conversation
In the Netflix television show The Crown, Queen Elizabeth’s Grandmother is ill and expected to die. The Queen goes to visit her and Queen Mary (the grandmother) says “I’m always happy to see you, and my mood will improve further if you promise me....not to ask me how I am. It’s all anyone ever does…
Lyme is a 4 Letter Word
I was sick for 8 years before being diagnosed with Lyme and other tick borne infections. During that time, I suffered a multitude of symptoms of constantly changing severity. Despite my belief that it was a rare and easily curable disease, I had several close friends who had Lyme - and who were adamant that…
Evasive Sleep
It's 1:30 am and I am laying here awake, longing for sleep. In the past 3 months, I've gotten maybe a handful of nights where I actually slept straight through more than a few hours. I've tried various meds, tinctures and remedies, BioMat to promote sleep, delta waves and sounds of the ocean - they…
Take Captive Every Thought
Someday, I’m gonna wake up without pain, without nausea, without fatigue. My head won’t hurt, my feet won’t burn, my skin won’t crawl. These are the thoughts I have to have to keep hope. Someday. It often feels like someday may never come. Sometimes it’s hard to remember what feeling well feels like - making…
Fear Is A Liar
We all start out thinking this is temporary. We believe some doctor or potion will eventually get us back to the state of normalcy to which we have become accustomed. So when does that change? At what point during sickness do we shift to the mindset that it may not happen. And what causes that…
Thankful Grateful Fed
Saying grace before meals is a common practice among most Christians. There are a lot of reasons we do this - glorifying God by acknowledging his gift of provision is usually the big one. But did you know God has a more individual, physical reason for saying grace? That’s right - you heard me -…
Joy in the Battle
I just finished day 2 at the Biologix Center. A large focus of my healing right now is center mass - gut, kidneys, liver, heart, lungs. I’ll try to better explain the process and treatment protocols later this week - it’s a little overwhelming, even my 2nd time through. But I feel improvement and I…
The Many Faces of Hope
I think the most difficult times in life often trigger the greatest measures of joy. In fact, it’s hard to imagine joy without challenges. How do you know something is truly good unless you first know something is bad? How do you truly appreciate a blessing unless you first feel the weight of a trial? …
Death Becomes Her
Fore-Warning: This is an honest and slightly morbid discussion about death. If this topic is uncomfortable for you, stop reading now. I get real here and I know it can be hard to discuss. So we never talk about it. It’s scary to talk about it. It’s sad to talk about it. But we need…
PhilippiJoy 