Affirmations

Everything you say is an affirmation. Everything you think is an affirmation. Everything! What you want to do is to get control of what you are saying and thinking, so these things bring you good experiences in life rather than rotten experiences. Louise Hay

I love this quote from Louise Hay. Come to think of it, I love several quotes from Louise Hay: brilliant woman. With what I've been experiencing this year, I'm finding it increasingly important to make sure that I'm very careful where I allow my thoughts to go. If I am not careful, I can spiral downward at an alarming rate.

An example? The swelling in my hand from the lymphedema can completely freak me out in a flash. When it was really bad a few weeks ago, I was convinced that I would be completely disabled with my writing hand, never write again, never wear a ring, never want to talk with my hands again. Mind you, my father has joked that if my hands were tied behind my back, I wouldn't be able to talk because I tend to gesture so wildly to emphasize a point. Not an exaggeration.

So many factors work to drag me out of a positive mindset: the isolation in not being able to do a lot of my favorite things with my favorite people. The isolation in not feeling like leaving the house because it is too much effort to pencil on eyebrows and select a wig or hat. The isolation in avoiding talking to people because all I can talk about is the damn arm or radiation or growing hair or something connected to the cancer.

This morning was a rough one. I didn't sleep at all last night between the night sleeve squeezing me and Oreo howling all evening. It is time for his steroid shot because he is obviously not feeling well. That is another story.

So, being sleep deprived tends to depress me. All I wanted to do was hole up in my house. I went so far as half-heartedly trying to find a sub for my noon yoga class. Luckily, I did go teach and once again, the Frogs yogis were responsible for lifting my mood. It is truly amazing what all that positive energy does for me. Is that selfish? I can only hope that it is truly reciprocal.

In the spirit of Louise Hay: I will be diligent in choosing my affirmations. I will sleep peacefully for at least eight straight hours tonight. I will have lovely dreams. I will awake tomorrow feeling refreshed and happy.