Late in August, I posted about waiting for a Botox treatment to work, about the suffering brought by misplaced hope, and about how emotional balance and equanimity - not healing - must be my goal.
It turns out to be a good insight: the Botox has made no difference in the migraines. Having practiced equanimity about the outcome of the treatment, I am not now crashing down through the wreckage of high hopes - hopes that the migraines will go away, that I will have more energy, that I will be able to live normally once I am not in almost constant pain. It is a good thing not to crash.
Yet to be honest, I do find myself in a bit of depression today. It's the day after Labor Day: my husband, after being off work for a week, has returned to his office; the weather is cool and rainy; people move purposefully up and down the sidewalk outside my windows. I remember how I loved this time of year. I usually felt renewed purpose and greater energy moving in with the cooler breezes. It's the time of year to go back to school, pick up work after celebrating summertime's last holiday, or help the family through changes in routine.
I admit to a tinge of feeling sorry for myself. Thank God, that does not last long. I know too many people who are also struggling: a loved one with cancer; an empty-nester feeling lost and alone in an echoing house; women living with AIDS; my homeless friends caught in addiction; a dear friend in the midst of huge upheaval; people I care about facing limb amputation, or family tragedy, or unemployment.
Equanimity balances my vision. Contemplating the wonders and richness of my life overwhelms me with thankfulness. Self-pity melts away, depression recedes for the moment.
Today is a day for gratitude.
I would love to hear from you. Please use the Comment box below, or email me at carold.marsh@gmail.com. Thank you.
I am sorry that the Botox didn't work for you. I imagine that you have to find a very different way to organize and conduct your life now. I remember how difficult it was for me to adjust to the fact that I had to schedule transportation when we were in Saudi Arabia--spontaneity was not an option. But for you now, you can't make a firm schedule because you never know when the migraines will strike and derail your plans. I would say "plan something to look forward to", but that won't work for your situation. Maybe you have to cultivate spontaneity--when you are feeling good, seize the moment!
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I appreciate your concern, Nancy. I am learning to seize the moment (I like the way you phrase it - "cultivate spontaneity") slowly because sometimes the thought of getting a migraine in the midst of an activity makes me extra cautious. But the small moments - with my husband, my dog - are cultivatable, too.
ReplyDeleteThis procedure is used by physicians to solve the problem of asymmetry, in which facial features are not balanced. Botox can restore facial.
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