Heal With Writing
While my symptoms are currently managed, I know that can change at any time. “MS can make it hard to find balance. How do I cope? Having an outlet to discuss my feelings, acknowledging the bad days, and enjoying the times when I feel well.”— Moyna John, Multiplesclerosis.net Patient Leader
We all cope with the ill and uncertain effects of the MonSter differently. Upon my diagnosis, I couldn’t talk about it. I was scared, confused, and even a bit embarrassed. Initially friends and family dove into research mode. The needed immediate support existed and often proved to be more overwhelming than the actual reality of multiple sclerosis. I sincerely apologize to those I might have brushed away. I know the efforts were sincere. I didn’t know how to receive them.
Writing has always been my passion, making my journal an essential companion throughout life. Unfortunately, the abstract nature of a journal’s content does not satisfy the human need for interaction.
The idea to record this strange new reality was personal. How could I express what was going on with me if I didn't understand it myself?
So, I kept a tight rein on that journal key and wrote for myself.
That is until my students were thirsty for information.
How convenient that self-expression played a major role in my classroom curriculum. Every Friday we, as a class, shared our weekly writing assignments for the purpose of a group editing exercise. Not everyone had to share their writing, but they all completed the assigned grammar worksheet necessary for state standard objectives.
One day not far into the first semester of school, a student suggested (dared) that I, too, shared my writings. This soon became a weekly challenge. They gave me homework!
This challenge quickly became my own personal venting place, resulting in my first published middle-grade novel. Written as a journal, Abby, is the story of a seventh-grade girl who attended five different schools in seven years. When her widowed mother is stricken with a mysterious medical condition, the small family's Bohemian lifestyle ends. They move to Mrs.Masterson’s hometown where Abby is welcomed into a family she didn’t know existed.
My students enjoyed elements of a school bully, planning a school dance, the possibility of first love, and Abby’s journey of coming to age.
I enjoyed the opportunity to talk about multiple sclerosis and the public attitude toward disability.
Writing this first novel allowed me to combine a personal passion with a new and permanent personal reality.
I don’t talk much about the MonSter in subsequent publications, but I became comfortable enough to actually pen and publish my first nonfiction common sense guide to living with MS. Twenty + years later, I look at this endeavor as an important breakthrough in my healing journey.
I now write every day. It calms me, centers me, and offers the purpose of working that multiple sclerosis robbed from me.
Try it. I’m not asking that you write a novel. Make a shopping list. Find some colored pencils and doodle. In fact, get one of those adult coloring books. They’re fun! Play with crayons. Write a snail mail letter to a friend.
Get a pretty notebook or journal and assign yourself a daily writing prompt.
Expressive writing is not for everyone, but it's worth a minute of your time.
Revisit your junior-high English class and try writing poetry. Limericks are always fun. Remember? There was a man from Nantucket…
https://parade.com/1249429/marynliles/limericks/
What about Haiku? These Japanese poems are challenging, thought-provoking,non-rhyming poems that originally expressed beauty in nature.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-a-haiku-in-4-easy-steps#what-is-a-haiku
Healing doesn’t consist only of Western medical practices. Challenge your brain. Release that inner artist.
RULES OF HAIKU
The entire poem consists of just three lines, with 17 syllables in total
The first line is 5 syllables
The second line is 7 syllables
The third line is 5 syllables
Mountain Momma, home
All four seasons in a day
West Virginia -by Lisa
Yep, it's foggy and rainy here, fifty degrees, and we’re expecting a major snowstorm:)
Have a good one,
Lisa, Lady With the Cane
https://www.amazon.com/Have-Whats-Your-Super-Power/dp/1882658442
