I have struggled with ill health and some type of physical symptom for most of my life, but have always had the mindset that whatever I was dealing with was temporary and I would be able to find a way to move past it. This attitude has served me well throughout my healing journey. It also created a thought process that refused to accept or honor any limitations, and I approached these symptoms as "the enemy" and battled to overcome them.

In recent years I have come to understand that there are times that no matter how positive you think or what you do...there are circumstances which you can't control...and the more you fight them, the greater the hold they have over you, and the worse things can become. I have finally realized that there is a way to keep your focus on the positive, and yet be accepting of the fact that you have to honor your limitations.

An example for me is the holiday season - I love decorating my home to the max...and every year because I can be extremely sensitive, we bring out all of the old (and often add lots of new) decorations, and usually within a day or two I can feel my body struggling. I would then start telling myself, "this is ridiculous...I am strong and I should be able to adjust and tolerate all of this stuff" and so I would leave it out and keep telling myself that my body is strong enough to handle it. But inevitably I would wind up in a downward spiral, and weakened to the point where I struggle for months afterwards.

This year I have finally decided to honor the message my body has been sending me for years - it is too overwhelming to expose myself to so many new and old things that are brought into the house at one time. So this year we purchased some holiday plants, and just a few decorations - introducing them one at a time to make sure they don't bother my sensitivities. Not only am I feeling fine, but I am so glad that I am able to enjoy the beauty of the season.

Do I like seeing myself as a sensitive being? No, I don't. Do I want to even acknowledge that I have limitations in my life? I sure don't. But the reality is I may be sensitive, but if I honor and respect my limitations, I can also hold on to the knowing that I am doing all I can to become the strong, healthy, and limitless being that it is my dream to be. ~ Andrea :-)