The Pain Appreciation Club

Tags

ent, Humour, Pain, Pain manage, Thanks

If I started a pain appreciation club do you think anyone would join? Maybe I need to tell you the rules of the club first before you decide.

Rules
1. You must be able to accept that this pain that you are experiencing is here for a reason.

2. You must allow yourself to shout, scream, swear and shake at any given time when the pain is at its worse but when the pain eases even for the briefest of moments, you thank it for the break.

3. You must be able to believe that life will not always be like this as what can appear can also disappear.

4. You must know that there are many others in this world that have experienced the same pain as you and even greater pain and they may hold the key on how to help ease this pain in the most peculiar of ways.

5. You must be kind to yourself and allow all your feeling to be felt and never ignore them.

6. You must not only find the reason why the pain is here but also making the changes in your life that the pain is asking you to make.

7. You must learn new parts of yourself that you may have never met before.

8. You must never accept that there is only one way to heal as the best way to deal with pain is your own personal way,

9. You must thank the pain when you are ready for all the lessons that it has brought you.

10. You must know that there will be a different relationship with your pain when you learn to have a different relationship with yourself.

Whether physical or emotional pain, we always have a choice on how we deal with it. When pain first storms into gate crash our once pain free life, we may not rush in to give it a big welcoming hug, but we do need to listen to what messages it is bringing us.

Appreciating pain is not as bizarre as it sounds as it can bring about strengths in us that we never knew we had. Resilience, appreciation of the simple things in life, discovering inner strength and finding your new limits can all follow an encounter with pain.

If you are not ready to join the pain appreciation club just yet that is fine but maybe you could try and pick a few of the points to work on to help cope with this intruder better. Speedy healing sent to you from The Pain Appreciation Club ❤

Time Off For Good Behaviour

Tags

Animals, Dog, Guide Dog, Labradoodle, Mobility, Thanks

Do you promise I only have a few more shifts to go until the holidays?

I know that is what he is thinking as I have been promising him this time off for a long time. The beauty of working in schools is that we have a lot of holidays which suits Munch just fine. He was put on this earth for many things such as giving and receiving an abundance of love, being a constant source of entertainment, training people to pander to his needs but work? ……not so much.

Most of his workday is spent laying around on his bed, client’s feet or in a corner in a huff. When he is not in his horizontal hibernation, he can be found playing with his toys, giving a client his paw to demand attention or doing the dying fly impersonation on the floor to centre all attention around his dramatic display. Keeping all of that in mind, I use the word work in the loosest of terms in relation to Munch.

He is even more excited this year as he has an extra week off than our usual 6 weeks so 7 weeks of off duty fun awaits him. When he will be running around freely on a field somewhere or swimming in a river, I will be slightly out of action with a healing knee after the upcoming operation that is happening in 2 weeks-time. I cannot wait to hear from his dog walkers what mischief he gets up to on his days out.

Everything is planned out to make sure that he has the most fun summer ever. A timetable of fun awaits him whilst I may be stuck indoors for a little while. I have a feeling that as he hangs up his harness for a few weeks he will have no regret, only happiness coursing through his body. I cannot wait to sense how happy he is each time he is brought home with a tired-out body and his bank of joy filled up.

Healing from the operation will be much easier if I know everyone is taken care of. The children are all sorted, and I know will be a great help. Angus and Faith will be happy doing their own cat and tortoise thing, but it is Munch who I have been most concerned about. Will he unlearn his guide dog commands when he is off? Will he have a tantrum when his harness goes back om him in a few weeks? Will he demand new working conditions when he returns to his role when I am more mobile?

I know that even when I am on crutches whilst wearing a Robocopesque leg brace, we will learn to listen to each other and work as partners in our own unique way. Munch is rather a fan of the slower pace of life, so I don’t think my new pace of walking will annoy him too much. A pocket full of treats and lots of fuss and praise may help soften his heart when he returns to a slower pace of work life.

I will keep you all posted on his summer escapades which will no doubt bring a smile or two to your face. The harness free pics will hopefully show his fun off duty summer that he deserves so much. Let the fun begin.

When Two Become One

Tags

Animals, Beauty, Dog, Guide Dog, Labradoodle, Oneness, Thanks, Unity

When a guide dog meets his/her new working partner, neither of their lives will ever be the same again.

After months of training to become super intelligent guide dogs that will give their time and love unconditionally to their new partners, they begin to weave their magic into the life of their new best friend. The blessed person with sight loss who has been awaiting this guide dog gift day for a long time can begin to attempt to return to some normality of life safe in the knowledge that they have a furry friend helping them. It will be the mix of both of their energies that will create a foundation for the most life changing bond that they will ever experience.

Matching guide dog to partner goes way beyond pairing up the first dog that is available. The needs of the guide dog partner are known and is key in choosing which dog will be suitable. Some matches will not work out and the partnership may be brief, whereas others will last for over 8 years and will create a bond that will never be forgotten. The guide dog will become part of the family, part of the community and most importantly part of the person that walks along their righthand side throughout life.

Guide dogs are far from over worked robots who do nothing but serve the person in their life. They are far more than a pet and far less than a slave. They go places that many animals never get to experience, and they get admired by the onlookers who see their beauty and their worth. They get to put smiles on the faces of people who live in loneliness and feel the love from strangers that surrounds them when they cross their paths. The extended family that the guide dog comes from with the old puppy walkers, trainers and guide dog staff have all had an essential role in helping the dog reach their full potential.

Since Munch came into my life the “I” has ceased and the “we” has begun. His needs are always top priority (along with the children) when I wake in the morning. Creating a happy life for him is key in us being able to work as a partnership throughout our life together. People always see us as a package now and where they see one of us, they expect to see the other. He plays more than he works, and he is pampered and never struggles. My love for him grows each day, and the mischievous imperfections that make him who he is, I hope will keep evolving.

The universe was in cahoots with our souls when it matched us together and for that I will be ever grateful. Being known as the one with “the unusual guide dog”, always makes me smile and my heart fills with joy. Becoming one with this drama loving, chilled out mischief maker means that I get to witness things that I never would have without him. I really hope that you get to become one with a furry or non-furry being in life and appreciate their quirky ways. Merged lives can expand the solitary life that will soon become a distant memory when we trust the oneness of all living beings.

A Meaningful Summer Solstice

Tags

Books, Summer solstice, Thanks, Wishes, Writing

June 21st is a day that never goes ignored in my life.

Celebrating the Summer Solstice means even more this year as that is the time that my book is going to print so there will be a double celebration going on in the Munch household. It is even more symbolic as it is a year ago exactly to the day that I sent off the completed manuscript to the publishers. The Summer Solstice this year will be a great time to reflect on the past year and put my wishes out to the universe for the coming year.

With the “sun standing still” (the Latin meaning of solstice), this is the perfect time for you to celebrate anything to do with the sun and of light in general. The light within each of us and celebrating the potential in ourselves will never be more powerful than on this day. It is also a key time to stop and reflect on what the last year has gifted you. This is the perfect time to still the mind and search for the positives in even the darkest of memories.

Connecting with nature means more at this powerful time of the year than ever. Falling in love with the change of the season that is happening all around you, can be the best soul food that you ever will taste. This is a perfect time to step outside of your own life story and experience the beauty in the world that is all around you by immersing yourself in nature, any way you can.

There is never a better time than now to start a new project that allows you to turn your dreams into a reality and watch the miracles in life unfold. You will also be at the most energetic at this time of year so use this as a natural energy resource to help gain motivation and use your natural energy bank for success.

Fire, passion, will and drive are all associated with the summer solstice so choosing not to harness these is choosing to leave your dreams unfulfilled. Leaving go of things that do not work for you and trying out new things that do, can bring nothing but peace into your life.

There is no need to rush this process of creating as the Summer Solstice is a time to savour experiences that you are about to create. This midpoint of the year highlights the highest point of the sun, but it also is where the slow return to winter will begin, so taking in each and every step can help us appreciate the changes that we will see around us.

Savouring the polarities of the seasons helps us to connect to the leaving go and new creations in life that are omnipresent.
Whether or not you choose to celebrate this magical time of year, I really wish that the new beginnings that are about to come into your life fill you with joy. The you that is awaiting you at the next summer solstice cannot wait to celebrate with you the life that you chose to create so make the future you proud by living the fullest life possible this year and for each and every year to come.

R.I.P Peter Mayhew & More

Tags

Blessings, Education, Marfan Syndrome, Sports, Thanks

Peter Mayhew (the actor who played cute Chewbacca in the Star Wars films) who sadly passed away on April 30th aged 74 will be missed by millions. The 7ft 3in larger than life character had brought Chewbacca to life since 1977 until recent years. Most were transfixed on Chewbacca and many did not know that Peter had Marfan Syndrome.

This, the most common connective tissue disorder, still is relatively unknown to the general population. It can affect the heart, eyes, lungs, blood vessels, joints, bones, ligaments, skin and any connective tissue in the body. Some with Marfan’s go on to live a life unaffected whereas others have a multitude of complications throughout life. The Skeletal system in those with Marfan Syndrome is usually affected in one way or another and this is one of the signs that is usually picked up by medical staff.

Throughout history there have been many people in the public eye that have had Marfan Syndrome. From presidents to musicians, sports personalities to actors, each one has found their own place in history and usually for the right reasons. Composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninov and violinist Niccolo Paganini were both believed to have Marfan Syndrome which meant that their supply long fingers could be used to their advantage to create such beautiful masterpieces. The actor Vincent Schiavelli (from ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest’) was a member of the National Marfan Foundation that supports people with the syndrome, before his death from a collapsed lung. Abraham Lincoln was never officially diagnosed but many believed that he also had the condition.

Isaiah Austin the American Professional Basketball player uses his height to his advantage in the game and after a small break in his career post diagnosis, he was cleared to play again. 6’5” Flo Flyman, the American Professional Volleyball player was at her peak when she sadly passed away during a game due to complications from Marfan Syndrome that she was unaware that she had. Many professionals in the sporting field go undiagnosed which can have a devastating affect due to the implications of cardiac involvement.

With life expectancy of someone diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome increased over the last few decades due to medical monitoring and advances in medicine, they are now in line with the general population. The key though however is early diagnoses and early monitoring which is still not happening as much as it should. With correct medical care, individuals with Marfan Syndrome can live out their lives doing exactly what they were born to do and bring joy to the masses.

R.I.P. Peter Mayhew and all the other talented souls with Marfan Syndrome that have left their larger than life footprints on this world. You inspire the rest of us Marf’s to keep following our dreams.

Full Circle

Tags

Comfort, Full Circle, Happiness, New Beginnings, Thanks

Following his sashaying rear end, I felt his pace quickening. He knew where he was going, and I trusted him. It had been two years to this exact week that we had been here last. We were returning to the room that would bring us full circle.

Three and a half years ago, it was in this room that things had triggered off the transformational choices that had led us to where we were today. Approaching the symbolic door, I recalled the exact moment that life had needed to change. As I unlocked the smooth, strong feeling door, my mind flicked back to the day that everything changed. On the day in question, it was this solid door that enticed me into the world of asking for help. I had opened the door to a person that I did not recognize the voice of and to me that was devastating. My method of recognising the voices of people instead of their appearance had slipped that day and I knew that I had to come clean about not being able to see. This was the day that I knew that I needed a guide dog to not only help me keep my independence by getting around but also to show others that my eyes lived in a different reality than theirs.

Entering back into this room, if felt homely. The energy of the room was still the same and my searching hands told me that the same equipment was still in the room with very little new additions. Their planted locations had not changed, and the sameness felt so welcoming. My outstretched feet allowed me to feel around the room that there were no trip hazards ahead of me and it was safe to walk around. I didn’t need any more accidents in this room, not after the incident with the balloon. Who would have thought that playing Keepy Uppy with a balloon could cause a dislocated knee right in front of a client? I wanted to avoid anymore traumatising incidents like this as cracking a dislocated knee back into place in front of a client was not ideal to do again. From this I became more mindful of any surrounding trip hazards. This time we will be accident free and safety conscious.

This is also the room that I started to think about writing a book. Not my What You See When You Can’t See book but a book about kindness and the positive effects on mental health that it brings. A few pages were started here in this room and now three years later it has developed into a fully formed book that will hopefully be published in the near future. This room holds so much amazing memories, new beginnings, laughter and sorrow, and it feels so good to be back in this creative room. It feels like this room represents coming full circle in life and I love every minute of it. The best thing about it is that I now share it with the best colleague possible.

Manifesting Munch coming into my life began in this room and here we are back here together.
I am really looking forward to what other magical moments that this room is going to bring us. From a reluctant thought about needing a guide dog to being gifted my sweet little Munch feels worlds apart. Munch remembers the few fun months we spent here together before we moved onto another school and he seems to be glad to be back. Playing with his toys and greeting new people into his doggy world keeps his tail wagging and my heart happy in the place that it all began.

Choose To Live Your Life

Tags

Alternative, Beauty, Choice, Life lessons, Peace, Thanks, Wishes

From seed to bloom, flowers reach their full potential when they are supported in the right environment. Growing into the beautiful best versions of themselves comes from allowing nature to take its course, and not allowing resistance to get in the way. When life is supported to create true beauty, it can mesmerize even the saddest of souls.

The short lifespan of the dragonfly does not dictate the happiness of its life. With over 5,000 species of dragonflies that have evolved over 300 million years, they continue to exist in a world that they only live in for a limited time. Symbolically, seeing a dragonfly is meant to show us transformation and the true meaning of the human life when it is likely that they are coming to the end of theirs.

As humans we have choice over how we live our lives even when we don’t feel that we do. Given the right conditions allows our true potential to be reached. Even in less than ideal conditions growth can happen if the drive to do so is present. Lifespans vary among us, but we always have a choice of what we do in our personalised lifespan. When dreams are reached from putting plans into action, your life can be full of nothing but achievements.

We are born on only one day and we will die one day but the average 28.000 days that many will spend on this earth is where true life begins and ends. When we fall in love with our own lives each day that we are blessed enough to wake up in, we begin to appreciate the miracle that we are living in. Making the most of the thousands of new days that we are blessed with helps us to realize just how big our world is.

Thanking each day that we are blessed with brings us closer to our true meaning of life that is unique to us. The life that we are living today reflects how much effort we have put into our lives so far. The beauty of human existence is that we always can create a new reality for ourselves if we wish to do so. Is the life that you are living today, the live that you truly want to live? If it is not, will tomorrow be the start of your new life?

When you choose to live and not just exist, you choose to live the life that you were born to lead.

Mothers Day Thanks

Tags

Beauty, Mother Love, Motherls Day, Sharing, Thanks, Unconditional Love, Wishes

To all the mothers who have birthed perfection, thank you for gifting the world true beauty that radiates from the inside out. Your perfect creation is exactly what the world needs to help others see how one person can change the lives of many. Implanting your inner beauty into the soul of your child is a gift that will always keep on giving.

To all the mothers who have nurtured those who they have not birthed, thank you for stepping in as a leading light. Selflessly giving to a soul in need helps in ways that you may never get to know about but will always be present. Maternal love does not have to lie in matched DNA but will always lie in matched hearts.

To all the mothers who have babies with four paws and fur or two feet and feathers, thank you for being the connection between the human and animal world. The unconditional love that is shared between you should be bottled and distributed for love starved situations. Children come in all versions and hairiness, but unconditional love only comes in the one form that you are.

To all the mothers who feel like they are failing at motherhood, thank you for keeping going. Your child will not remember your messy hair, piles of ironing or tired body but they will remember the comfort in your arms. You are the anchor that your child needs in choppy times so knowing that you are their stability can help them keep afloat with the lifeline of love that you give them.

To all the mothers who have children with additional needs, thank you for being their voice. When some may see additional needs, you see additional opportunities to help them live their life to the maximum. Fighting for equality and compassion is the super power that you have discovered since you met the centre of your world so embrace this super power with pride.

To all the mothers to be, enjoy the wait for your beautiful child, your pregnancy is unique to you alone and never let another taint your version of bliss. As soon as your baby will be birthed out of the security of your womb and into the big wide world, smile in the knowledge that you are giving your child the best start in life. Beginnings are the scaffolding of life.

To all the mothers that have lost their child, please take care of your broken heart. When your angel left your life, they remain forever yours. Time may never heal the void in your heart but may act as a marker of everlasting love. The glow in your heart when your angels name is spoken will always stay ignited and will never be dimmed.

To all the mothers that never were, thank you for wanting to be. The physical form of your child may never have appeared but in your mind, they were always there. The love that you have showered upon children you have nurtured, sponsored and been present for will always be remembered. Your beautiful mothering nature always let the child know that mothers don’t have to be biological.

To all the mothers that come in different forms, thank you for being you.

World Book Day Evolution

Tags

Blind, Books, Life lessons, Love, Sight Loss, Thanks, Worldbookday, Writing

It must have looked weird. A blind woman being led by her guide dog walking around the books shop, but it just had to be done.

As the guide dog whipped past the cookery books, travelled through the sci-fi section and ended up in the land of the fun-filled children’s books, the owner rewarded him with a treat. He had guided her to the place that she missed the most. From Willy Wonka to The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, books had always been fun companions during her childhood and had always left her wanting more. Along with millions of other children, she loved to escape into books of all types and feel like it was just the author and the reader that were in this alternative reality. Life lessons that trickled from the pages of each book, cleansed her mind from the negatives in the world and broadened her consciousness to what humanity was really about.

Even back then she could not really see the words clearly. There had always been a hazy double vision around words, but she had developed her own fun way of dealing with it. She learnt to read by a method of deduction. A five-lettered word that had a hazy straight line and a fuzzy small hump attached lower down was obviously a h and a slanted blur that extended lower than the other letters was obviously a y. With 2 similar looking 3rd and 4th letters that were seen in double vision, the letter could be nothing else but ‘happy’. As the years passed, she began to rely less on her eyes to see and more on her brain to decide what these words were in front of her. She read at a rapid pace and could not get enough of the author’s voice that came alive in the treasured books.

Time passed and reading books got more and more difficult. Even the ‘sniff it to see’ rule that she had always lived by, where she held the book close to her nose, no longer worker so a plan B was needed. Magnifier’s and other aids from the low vision clinic could no longer help but technology came to the rescue. Audiobooks, e-books with narration and screen readers on laptops all made it possible to remain an avid book worm. Even dabbling in a bit in braille meant that there were no barriers to becoming one with an author again. Reading to another however, was something that she really did miss. Reading large print books with her children as they grew, allowed her to ‘sniff to see; and memorise the books after reading them a couple of times. She now wanted to do this with her sweet 3-year-old granddaughter and thanks to modern day Apps on her phone, she was able to know what the books said and memorize them to read back to her beautiful little angel. Life was blissful again.

Standing in the colourful corner of the book shop where dinosaurs popped out of books and glitter from the exquisite cover left magic on the fingers and heart of the reader, she stood happy in the blur of fuzzy colour that awaited her. Pulling out her phone to use technology to be able to identify what she was looking at, she choose a new book for her granddaughter. Her guide dog patiently waited and sniffed some adventures out to help the best he could. In six months-time, their book would be in a similar joy filled labyrinth of a bookshop which was such a strange but warm feeling. People would soon know how special Munch the guide dog really was and discover what he was really like. The mischief makers secrets would be out and hopefully spread a little happiness to the reader. Stories are always the most powerful when shared.

Here’s to wishing that stories will continue to be spread in a variety of different ways that allows accessibility to all. Thank you to each author that changes the lives of people that they may never meet in person but will always be connected through meetings of the souls.

Follow The Leader

Tags

Choice, Dog, Freedom, Guide Dog, Labradoodle, Life lessons, Thanks

Was this the way that he really wanted to go? It is usually the river that he runs to for some active aqua therapy or the field on top of the hill for some freedom therapy. The bird hide isn’t usually his thing. Maybe it was just the Welsh on the sign that was confusing him?

Over the last two years he has become almost fluent in Welsh commands (and swear words) and even joined in with the Welsh rugby win last weekend and the St David’s celebration on March 1st but I suppose asking him to learn the written word in a little too far.

Munch likes a lot of choice in life and loves to mix things up a bit so that’s all you can do with him is expect the unexpected. As he had forgotten his binoculars that day, I did wonder if he really wanted to go to the bird hide and knew as soon as he started down the path that he would change his mind half way through as it seemed a little too civilised for his liking. When he turned on his heel half way along the path, we just followed like obedient staff.

Saying our hellos to a fellow dog walker who noticed the change in our direction, she commented that she would never allow her dog to dictate where she went, and it was the other way around as she felt that she had all the power over her furry companion and that she always chose what he would do.

As we set off in Munch’s chosen direction, I felt so blessed that we were in each other’s lives as our outlook on life is practically identical. If Munch had ended up with the lovely but power-hungry owner that we had just met, he wouldn’t be the same free-spirited pooch as he was today. Mutual understanding and respect work much better that a control and fear-based relationship, as when we find equality, we learn to work in harmony with one another life becomes more blissful .

Believing that we have all the control over another living being speaks volumes about the balance that we believe we have in life and how secure we feel in this world of change.
Munch spends a lot of his time guiding me around which allows me to be independent and more adventurous that I could ever be without him. I give daily gratitude to him for being my eyes, my compass and my doorway to freedom and I will do whatever I can to repay him for his loyalty.

Leaving him to chose what he wants to do on his time off I feel is the least I can do for his guiding. Even his easy adaption to bilingual commands shows that he is far more than a possession and is in fact a talented teraway with a heart of gold and a spongy brain. I would never dampen his flair for free choices even if it means looking to others like I am the one in training.

Changing paths in life is never a sign of weakness but a sign of adventure. Keep choosing to change your mind Munch and I will always follow you into the adventure.