Up and up…never give up.

It’s been a week of reflections.

By that I mean too difficult to do what I really want…so Reflection is it !

No surprise that this came to mind while setting out this morning. Regretfully the hands are not responding so we will end up with a Sunday Reflection, (hopefully that is !)

And so, it has been a question of perseverance, typing when possible, thinking when pertinent and sucking it up!

No-one ever said dealing with MS would be easy…it isn’t.

And no – I don’t feel sorry for myself, just frustrated by what I cannot do (I’m also impatient !) It has given me a good excuse to read all the scientific papers I’ve been collating on Fasting, ketosis and autophagy with impact for MS…heavy reading …lol

Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
~ C.G. Jung

It still hurts… a year ago this week we said farewell to the King. Any yes, it still hurts to think about him. With an early start to the days (as the foot cramps and spasticity wake up before me, his presence is still very sorely missed)

Feeling rather lost today…it’s always a plan to turn to music, Some retro tunes this morning…70’s to 80’s 😊

And the more familiar …

Some insights from Seth G (as usual)

Confusing hunger and thirst

If you find yourself stranded in the desert with nothing but an endless supply of chips, you’re going to die within a week.

The same thing could happen to you if you had nothing but water to live on. Hunger and thirst are similar, easily confused but very different.

Our culture of corporate consumption tries to persuade us that being hungry is all we need. Hungry to earn more, buy more, save more, spend more. It celebrates the hustler who doesn’t know how to stop, asserting that this person is getting all the fancy prizes because they’re contributing so much. Status is awarded to the unsated hungry person.

But they might still be thirsty. Thirsty for meaning and connection. Thirsty for the satisfaction of creating beauty. More hustle won’t satisfy those needs.

In the end I am fortunate , neither hungry for more nor thirsty (ok the thirst for knowledge is never really satiated !)

…happy with what I have 😊

One song that keeps playing in my head today is Coldplay’s Up and up … not only a fantastic tune but symbolic perhaps due to the presence of Merry Clayton. In fact I heard of this “story” even before ever hearing the song. As explained below, coming back from such trauma is incredible indeed but shows how driven some of us are.

“Another voice that can be heard on the track is that of gospel singer Merry Clayton, who provided the iconic backing vocal for The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” “It had been a dream to work with her so we just called her up,” Chris Martin told The Sun.

Clayton had just had both legs amputated at the knee following a serious car accident. “She came in a wheelchair and did her thing and then said, ‘I just lost my legs’,” Martin recalled. “We didn’t know. She’d just come out of hospital the week before but was so full of joy, gratitude, love and life.”

Inspiring indeed.

Fixing up a car to drive in it again
Searching for the water, hoping for the rain
Up and up
Up and up

Down upon the canvas, working meal to meal
Waiting for a chance to pick on your orange field
Up and up
Up and up

See a pearl form, a diamond in the rough
See a bird soaring high above the flood
It’s in your blood
It’s in your blood

Underneath the storm an umbrella is saying
Sitting with the poison takes away the pain
Up and up
Up and up, it’s saying

We’re gonna get it, get it together right now
Gonna get it, get it together somehow
Gonna get it, get it together and flower
Whoa
We’re gonna get it, get it together I know
Gonna get it, get it together and flow
Gonna get it, get it together and go
Up and up and up

Lying in the gutter, aiming for the moon
Trying to empty out the ocean with a spoon
Up and up
Up and up

How come people suffer, how come people part?
How come people struggle
How come people break your heart?
Break your heart, oh

Yes I wanna grow, yes I wanna feel
Yes I wanna know
Show me how to heal it up
Heal it up

Oh, see the forest there in every seed
Angels in the marble waiting to be freed
Just need love, just need love
When the going is rough, saying

We’re gonna get it, get it together right now
Gonna get it, get it together somehow
Gonna get it, get it together and flower
Whoa
We’re gonna get it, get it together I know
Gonna get it, get it together and flow
Gonna get it, get it together and go

And you can say what is, or fight for it
Close your mind and take a risk
You can say “It’s mine” and clench your fist
Or see each sunrise as a gift

We’re gonna get it, get it together right now
Gonna get it, get it together somehow
Gonna get it, get it together and flower
Whoa
We’re gonna get it, get it together I know
Gonna get it, get it together and flow
Gonna get it, get it together and go
Up and up and up

We’re gonna get it, get it together right now
Gonna get it, get it together somehow
Gonna get it, get it together and flower
Whoa
We’re gonna get it, get it together I know
Gonna get it, get it together and flow
Gonna get it, get it together and go
Up and up and up

Fixing up a car to drive in it again
When you’re in pain
When you think you’ve had enough
Don’t ever give up
Don’t ever give up

On time …you think you still have time (Thank you Seth ☹ )

Wasting it

When you bought your first smartphone, did you know you would spend more than 1,000 hours a year looking at it?

Months later, can you remember how you spent those hours?

When you upgraded to a new smartphone, so you could spend more hours on it, did you think about how you had spent so much of your ‘free’ time the year before?

If we wasted money the way we waste time, we’d all be bankrupt.

Let’s hope the week ahead is a great one.

For those celebrating carnival…hold onto your hats – it’s blowing out there !