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Photograph Courtesy Celeste Cooper, Author
Spring is a
time of reawakening after a long cold winter and this year it means so much
more. It is a time to explore things that bring us pleasure as we break through
the shell of our own winter cocoon.
I find
great enjoyment in photography, and I am thankful that I have found ways to
fill up my thought spaces on this learning journey with my digital Canon EOS. I
am grateful to have hobbies that occupy my time in isolation from chronic pain,
but this past year has been difficult because of the COVID-19 virus. In some ways,
those of us who live with chronic illness have had a head start on the
isolation that has affected so many because of this horrible pandemic.
That said, I
still have plenty to learn about my camera, so there was no shortage of
building on the mental seat of this four-seated teeter-totter I try to keep off
the ground. Understanding the importance of mental, physical, emotional and
spiritual balance has given me the foundation to make it through these trying
times.
The canvas
of life to a photographer is limitless and spring provides many photo ops as
the season of birth gives rise to new photo moments. I anticipate a plethora of
opportunities as I guide my lens toward my new granddaughter, who is full of
light and life. I look forward to capturing butterflies and bees spreading
their wings, trees blowing and bowing to the wind beckoning me outside to
experience the essence of light and love for photography.
…Hobbies create
the presence of desire in our lives and keep our mind open to opportunities for
exploring our creativity. Learn to make jewelry, read palms, fish, line dance,
take photos, make bird houses, collect antique watches, start a joke book,
crochet, or hand glide. Take up scrap booking, wood burning, or calligraphy;
it's totally up to you… [Excerpt, day 69, Spring Devotions in
the Broken Body, Wounded Spirit: Balancing the See-Saw of Chronic
Pain series.]
My hobbies
are huge self-esteem boosters for me as one who lives with chronic pain.
What hobbies would you like to explore this spring?
"We are all subject to the slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune; they are around us, in a space we do not control. This book is a
gentle, yet forceful reminder that the best defenses against them reside
within- in a space we do control, welling up from resources we can learn to
cultivate. Hope here is equally soft and irresistible, much like Spring
itself."
Dr. David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP
Director, Yale University Prevention
Research Center
[Inside the Cover,
Broken Body, Wounded Spirit:
Balancing the See-Saw of Chronic Pain, Spring Devotions.]
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