Crystal like dew sparkles in the morning grass
The birds sing good day to you
The sun shines its warmth upon the earth
And you just quietly walk away
STOP
Take a minute to look and listen
Nature tries its best
To make your day complete with beauty
Enjoy it while you can
It won’t last forever
Be grateful today
*****
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – crystal
Today I decided to bring more light to the world. Today I ask you to do the same thing. Join me in posting something happy and upbeat, funny or serious but always sunny. It can be poems, stories (real or fiction), pictures, quotes or music. Let’s spread a little joy today. Encourage each other with a little positivity. If you want to spread that sunshine give me a link in the comments and we can light up the world together. #SunnySunday
Let’s turn the world Purple… well this may be a little late in the day to do so as I am sure a majority of you have been up and dressed for a while already when this gets posted. In a perfect world enough people would wear purple today to cause notice, to bring questions, basically to raise awareness and that is what it is all about.
Today is World Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. It is something too few people know about. It is a chronic health condition consisting of widespread pain, fatigue, brain fog, and a million other little things. According to Mayo Clinic – “Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain and spinal cord process painful and nonpainful signals.”
I have had Fibro for over ten years now and diagnosis took about two to three years. And for me that was only luck I found out about it as the doctor who “diagnosed” me only put vague notes in my records that my primary doctor happened to read and see. She then informed me of the reason for my pain. The rheumatologist just told me to “do yoga and loose weight” but he would not see me again for treatment… a nonbeliever at the time. There were a LOT of nonbelievers at first, but now the disease is more recognized and acknowledged by the medical community.
I have found some medications helpful, and I do try to move more and am working hard at being more aware of what I eat… lost about 30 pounds but have been stuck at this weight for quite a while now. There both is no test for the disease and no cure. But with more awareness and research there is hope for the future.
Today’s sunny thought… a world full of people in purple would sure bring a smile to my face. Just look at what a little pink ribbon did to breast cancer research and treatment, imagine what purple shirts could do. For more information about fibro check out the links below and have a BEAUTIFUL Sunny (purple) Sunday! 🌞
Links with information about fibromyalgia –
Shhh! I know technically it is after midnight here so it’s Saturday, but not on the west coast yet, and that is where Fandango is so I think I am still legit. So back in time I go to 2021 and this post for this week’s FFF. I hope you like the poem and the song I posted with it… I probably haven’t heard it since this post, it was good to hear it again.
Play On
Music affects the soul
It brings emotions out in the listener
Music affects the heart
We can’t help but feel good when we hear a favorite song
Music affects the mind
Memories come drifting back with every note
Music affects every aspect of our lives
Let it play on
***
A song that has been on my mind recently and Tom was one of my Mom’s favorite so in honor of her this Mother’s Day evening…. hope you like this little bit of blues.
He turns away
I still feel his icy stare
He sits and is silent
Now he looks anywhere
But into my eyes
Knowing he stepped over the line
His accusation cuts deep
He has the audacity to accuse
When he is the adulterer
I have gone from miffed to mad
In less than a breath
Then with a sigh
Why bother
He gave up on us years ago
Now I am the one who turns away
Silently resolute
*****
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – miffed
It’s new
It’s unheard of
It’s revolutionary
It is something like you have never seen
It is something you have always wished for
It is something you never thought would happen
It’s fairness
It’s integrity
It’s honesty
It is a candidate that is decisive
It is a candidate that is positive
It is a candidate that tells the truth
It however is not reality
It is only a dream…
It seems we are stuck in the same old election nightmare
*****
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – revolutionary
Image credit – Bing Image Creator
It only has to have two ingredients
And takes a long time to be ready
Add in a little love and caring
For an extra special touch
The right nutrition and resting time
Are crucial to get it right
But it doesn’t need an oven
Or a pan to make it perfect
Just a 98 degree home to form in
And enough time to grow
Then with the most wonderful pain
The process is completed
And three things are produced
A mother, a father and a child
*****
A little something just before Mother’s Day written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – oven
A darkened room begins to roar
As movement is barely seen on stage
A rhythm pounds out on the drums
A series of notes hit the guitar strings
And a keyboard is played
The lights bathe the stage
The crowd goes wild
As the band blends their voices
The rush of the live show has begun
And I surrender to the euphoria
**
*****
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – band
Today I decided to bring more light to the world. Today I ask you to do the same thing. Join me in posting something happy and upbeat, funny or serious but always sunny. It can be poems, stories (real or fiction), pictures, quotes or music. Let’s spread a little joy today. Encourage each other with a little positivity. If you want to spread that sunshine give me a link in the comments and we can light up the world together. #SunnySunday
As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, this is National Mental Health Awareness month. A saying I have seen more and more is
Acceptance can be hard at times, but know it is ok. We do not have to be one hundred percent, one hundred percent of the time. We can be hurting in many different ways but if we are true to what we feel we are respecting ourselves more. You can miss that movie when you need self-care, and if you have friends who understand it makes a world of difference.
“Always be your true self, and surround yourself with positive and supportive people.” – Amanda Lepore
Learning to recognize you need to take care of yourself is not always easy with mental health. With a cold you know because you start sneezing and running a fever. Mental health can be more subtle and harder to see, so you have to know yourself.
“This above all; to thine own self be true.” – William Shakespeare
You may put on a mask for others but when looking in the mirror we have to truly see who we are and HOW we are. I read a stat this week that said it took eleven years for most people to get treatment from onset of problems. That is really very sad that we don’t see what we are going through and reach out for help.
There is nothing to be ashamed of with mental illness. One in five people will have an occurrence of mental illness in their lives. Don’t hide from it. We don’t always have to like where our life is at any given moment, but if we truly embrace who we are, no mental illness can stop us from being the best we can be.
“Be bold, be brave enough to be your true self.” – Queen Latifah
So find a spot of sunshine and take inventory of yourself. Play some music, watch a feel-good movie or read a good book. Take care of all of your health because
Have a peaceful sunny Sunday, see you next week!
I realize I am a day late on this prompt for FOWC and the word alone, but I was busy yesterday and I thought this was still something worth saying. The month of May is one that affects me greatly… it is both Mental Health Awareness month and Fibromyalgia Awareness month. More on fibro later, but I wanted to address the issue of feeling alone.
I suffer from depression and take medication for it. The other day I forgot one little day of medication and by that night I was in a bad way. I truly felt alone. I am here with my boyfriend, and I have a great circle of friends, but I truly felt alone. No matter how many times I told my brain I wasn’t, I still FELT it.
Words don’t always stop feelings, but that doesn’t mean we should give up on them. I knew I wasn’t alone and kept repeating it until finally my anxiety medicine let me calm down enough to sleep. In sleep I can be at peace and sometimes that is all a person needs.
I know in the past my circle hasn’t been as close and before I received the help I needed from doctors and medication, I reached out to helplines – specifically one offered through my employer years ago when I was working and first started to have trouble. Although the words don’t stop the feelings, they do help. And that is the point I am trying to make with these rambling mumbles. You are never truly alone. There are places to reach out to. When your family and friends aren’t available it doesn’t mean you are alone. There are plenty of places to turn to.
Here are just a few places you can call, text or email. If you know of others, PLEASE add them in the comments. The thing to remember is YOU ARE NEVER ALONE. Reach out and take care of your mental health.
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Available Mon – Fri 10 am – 10 pm ET
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Available 24/7
Crisis Textline
Available 24/7
The Trevor Project
Available 24/7 for LGBTQ youth in crisis
And a wealth of information…
can be found on NAMI’s sight for the The NAMI HelpLine National Resource Directory with over 600 contacts … just follow the link on this page to view it in English or Spanish.
***Above all else. Remember if this is an emergency to call 911 and ask for an officer who has experience with a psychiatric emergency.***
Gentle persuasion has not worked
I have to push and pull and fight
Use coercion and put myself under duress
Whatever it takes to wipe you away
Strip you from my memory
As it is too hard to still see your face
Still feel your touch
Still taste your lips
It is slowly killing me
And I am tired of this pain
So with threats and intimidation
I will have your memory extinguished
Or I’ll be trapped in this prison forever
*****
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – duress
Leigha Robbins 