Diving Right In…

flippers in swimming poolI'm happy to report that I was able to get back into the swimming pool this morning after several weeks of swollen and painful joints. In the past, I would whine (yes, I am capable of that!) that I could no longer do a shallow dive, whip kick, egg beater or even front crawl. It dawned on me that I was spending a lot of time focusing on what I couldn't do and very little time on what I could still do.

I also need to remind myself that I do my best each day and that some days "my best" is not as good as "my best" the previous day. Living with a chronic disease provides one with a unique set of challenges but, like my swimming experience, it all has to do with perspective.

Which, incidentally, is a key principle in learning to transform the stress in your life.