This evening, at the event I attended, one of the speakers was talking about surviving instead of being defeated. Using the AT&T commercial he suggested that we "rethink possible". His point was that things come along to get us down every day. Every single day there is an opportunity to either be defeated or to survive.
Years ago my sister bought us these cards with sayings on them written by Maya Angelou. The are called Life Mosaic. I have my set in the bathroom, by the mirror so I can read one of the cards every day as I'm doing my hair. They would probably be best described as affirmations. With regards to living and surviving Maya Angelou says...
Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.
The discussion spoke to me as someone with a chronic illness. I think the reason I can be positive most days is because I know what I've been through over the years. There have been days when I'm barely able to get from the bed to the bathroom. Other times when people are disrespectful of me because they consider me different or unable because of the chronic illness. I find that attitudes bug me just as much as physical pain sometimes. Days when either my body is betraying me or I'm losing faith in mankind are days in which I struggle the most. Then there are other days when everything is as fine as rain. When the sun is shinning, the flowers are blooming, every song being sung is in tune, I'm happy to let the dog drag me down the street (she calls it a walk) and the fish are all swimming upstream. Remembering that those days are just around the corner helps me to get through the rough patches. During the rough days I find a comfortable position, take my meds, apply heat and think about the possibilities of tomorrow.
Today, by the way....all the fishes are swimming upstream!
I took a vacation. I don't remember the last actual vacation. I started traveling so much for work a vacation was staying home and enjoying my own shower. This year, upon the urging of my family, we went on vacation and it was fabulous! 
The discussion spoke to me as someone with a chronic illness. I think the reason I can be positive most days is because I know what I've been through over the years. There have been days when I'm barely able to get from the bed to the bathroom. Other times when people are disrespectful of me because they consider me different or unable because of the chronic illness. I find that attitudes bug me just as much as physical pain sometimes. Days when either my body is betraying me or I'm losing faith in mankind are days in which I struggle the most. Then there are other days when everything is as fine as rain. When the sun is shinning, the flowers are blooming, every song being sung is in tune, I'm happy to let the dog drag me down the street (she calls it a walk) and the fish are all swimming upstream. Remembering that those days are just around the corner helps me to get through the rough patches. During the rough days I find a comfortable position, take my meds, apply heat and think about the possibilities of tomorrow.
