Healing Journey

Illusions of Normal

Reflections on what “normal” means in the face of disease.

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There is no return to normal Because normal is just illusion Wrested from disparate events And a numbness of routine.

There is no return to normal When you are gifted disease — For the negation of ease Shatters all pretense of illusion.

There is no return to normal, Since normal required distance, To push and cajole my body In ignorance of its needs.

There is no return to normal, Or creation of a new normal. Except mindfulness, presence, And being in the moment.

This was poem #151 in my 2022 Poem a Day personal challenge. I was in an introspective period, looking at what my life would and could be like, post MS. I am grateful for the gift of that period of healing as the lessons have stayed with me and continued to grow. Mindfulness, presence, being in the moment. AKA living as a poet!