Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

No matter how bad the day is, these two little princesses
can make me smile.

It could be easy to fall into despair with all the things lupus has taken away. Sometimes I do get depressed and sometimes I am afraid of what lupus might be doing to me.

Most of the time, I aim to be happy despite the things that lupus is doing to me.

The big thing that helps is my family. My children and grandchild, and my crazy pets, make me smile no matter how sick I am. I am so proud of my wonderful family, who have been through a lot, but still support each other and me.

I could be upset about having to give up my profession because of lupus.  But I have gained something incredibly precious - I have more time with my grandchild than I could possibly have had if I'd been working. I can have playtime or story time pretty much any time I have the energy. Very few grandparents are able to enjoy all that I have.

Friends also make a huge difference.  I confess to being a lousy friend.  I've had three people I want to contact on my "to do list" for a couple of weeks, and just not found the energy.  But I know that my friends are among the most caring, loving people in the world.  Even if I don't get to see them and talk to them, I watch for their news on social media, and they are always with me in my memory.

I was baking today, and it made me think of the wonderful person who had given me the mixer I use to knead dough (can't do that with my hands anymore), the couple who made the sliding tray the mixer stands on so I can move it around the bench, and my lovely son giving me the smart watch with multiple timers for all the different things I was trying to keep track of.  Many of the things in my home have some relationship to people I care about, and everyday tasks remind me of the amazing amount of love I have been shown.

I also try to laugh at lupus.  You might have noticed that from the number of blog posts about the stupid things I've done during bouts of brain fog and fatigue.

And I use the little energy I do have for things I love doing; sewing, baking, writing, arts and crafts. Yes, I do write quite apart from blogs: you can do an author search for Iris Carden on Amazon or iBooks and find some of the things I've done.

I guess I have always believed it's possible to find happiness in any circumstance.  It goes with my Christian faith, the belief that whatever happens, I'm not dealing with it alone, Jesus is with me.  Knowing that, in Christ, love is stronger than anything lupus, or life in general, can throw at me, is a great source of happiness.

So, if I were to summarise it, love, a sense of humour and focussing on the things I can still do, are the things that get me through and help me to find happiness.






This post part of Wego Health's Health Activist Writers Month Challenge.

Today's topic: What do you think is the key to happiness? Is it being able to overcome a hard time? Laughter? Maintaining a positive attitude? Tell us what you think and why. #HAWMC

Health Bloggers/Activists out there, if you want to join in the fun, find the details here.