Pilgrim Pathway

There are times when facing a health challenge when we feel bound.  We are experiencing limited choice or our social world shrinks.  We feel a sense of despair and most of all, we’ve entered a physical, emotional, and spiritual space we’ve never been before.

We sit in a place of apprehension.  It’s when we sit in this space, if we sit there long enough, emotions bubble up and we are often overwhelmed.  The experience clouds our decision-making process, and if you’re like me, you go right to “practicing the ending.”  

It would be unrealistic to think we’re not going to go through these stages after a diagnosis.  It would be similar to the stages of grief by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.  Diagnosis has its own stages.  The question is, “what do we do to move forward after the diagnosis?”  How do we work toward letting the dust settle so we can get down to work, the work of wellness?

Whenever I think of angst, I think of being tied up in knots.  The visual I get is that of taking sheets out of the washing machine and they’re all twisted.  For many of us, it’s like how we experience our emotional and spiritual selves.  Finding ways to loosen the grip of the diagnosis is not easy, but worthwhile.  

You may find a support group.  Perhaps someone recommends a book, a magazine, or a podcast.  There are organizations for most diagnoses to provide information and education.  I believe it’s about being proactive.  Looking at making the shift from victim to advocate to thriver. 

For more art and prompts (I’ve posted over 1,000 collages) follow me on 

Instagram/Threads: @drfiber

For commentary on those collages read: http://www.manofthecloth.wordpress.com