About 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with a neurological condition, and around the same time my mom learned that her cancer had spread to most of her bones. We were both struggling. The pain was extremely overwhelming, and there were times it felt like we could barely function. Neither of us had ever been in that much pain much less for an extended period.
But we never stopped searching for something better. We kept trying to understand how some people in pain seem to find a kind of peace or shift in perspective that helps them cope, even when they can’t fully explain it.
We read, listened, talked, and explored everything we could. And then something clicked. Not all at once, but enough that we both felt it. From that point on, our lives began to change in a real and meaningful way. Now, some years later, pain is my companion along for the ride and is no longer the captain of my ship. Because we gained this insight my mom's last few years were active, happy, fulfilling, and peaceful and my life has been salvaged and made new again...I'm happy, grateful, active, and generally in a good mood. After being disabled by pain and not working for a decade I am looking forward to my new job in 2 weeks. I am still in the same amount of pain, I just handle it differently now.
I’ve included a link to the PDF. The formatting and spacing are a bit off right now since I’m not very tech-savvy, but someone with publishing experience will be helping me clean it up soon.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o-wIp0opqoBj0UQihcDEPFtQko-E9LU3/view?usp=drive_link