The Messiah’s Handbook (Richard Bach, 1977, 2004) advises us:

Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished.
If you’re alive, it isn’t.

I’ve had this quotation on my refrigerator door for several years now — as if I actually need a daily reminder that there’s always something (big and bad) coming at me right around the corner (and ready to throw my entire known universe into utter chaos).

This time the issues are all about my health… which probably won’t surprise anyone who has kept up with (or browsed) these Musings very much at all. I’ve been writing about what I first labeled “peripheral neuropathy” since at least last March. Then, later in the year, after my move south, I found a doctor who seemed to have some kind of clue about what was going on with my body, and labeled it “chronic myofascial pain.” And, as you know, I have chronicled such avenues as low-dose naltrexone and acupuncture in my quest to address this predicament.

The latest development is that I seem to have entered some kind of acute phase (or an “eruption,” as my chiropractor likes to call it) with respect to the constellation of my pain issues…enough so that my physician has ordered me to stay away from work. This is a real first for me, so it’s taking a total mental adjustment to accept that I am in such a serious state. The theory is that I can take some time away and calm both myself and the symptoms. I’m scheduled to return to work in a month.

In the meantime, the latest label for my woes seems to be headed in the direction of fibromyalgia…a widespread syndrome that afflicts women much more than it does men. (As usual, in my life, I’m finding myself in the minority.)

I will be seeking much assistance in the coming days, weeks and months. I know I have lots of support out there, and that is very comforting.

Here is what I know I need to do right now:
Breathe.
Take it a day at a time.
Breathe.
Go for a walk.
Breathe.
Keep showing up.
Breathe.
Keep writing.
Breathe.
Take a hot bath.
Breathe.
Go for a drive.
Breathe.
Take a picture.
Breathe.
Keep trusting that the universe will provide.
Breathe.
Appreciate life.
Breathe.