Shiloh Moore describes herself as a ‘tireless advocate, master meditator, proud aunty to her many niblings (which is the gender neutral term for nieces and nephews), mentor, friend, family member, creative artist, writer, author of two self -published autobiographical books, musician and songwriter (especially of chants), profound thinker, philosopher, spiritual explorer and lover of life who has had severe ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia for 35 years since age 10.
See her online art exhibition See ME Expo Featured Artist Exhibition Art and Words by Shiloh Moore at www.seemeexpo.com/shiloh-moore
‘ADVICE I’VE LEARNED’
© 17/1/16 by Shiloh Moore
I’d like to share advice
learned from my illness struggle all these years,
ways of coping, surviving, living
and ways that settle some of my fears
A doctor once told me
‘give in to the illness, but don’t give up,’
adjust your life to accommodate illness
but don’t give up all hope
Abandon all expectations of living
a ‘cookie cutter life,’
instead adapt and carve out
a new, different, still fulfilling path
There is no guidebook
no one, perfect way to follow or plan
so use your intuition, trial and error
you’ll ‘get there’: just live the best you can
Trust in yourself
as nobody else knows
all that you go through,
…and other people come and go
Go gently on you
don’t be afraid to grieve,
know though you may live with it,
you may eventually feel relieved
Look after yourself, rest
learn to ‘pace,’
prioritise your health:
insignificant things can wait
Learn to ‘choose your pain:’
as you’ll always be in pain,
choose to do things that bring joy and are worth it
and learn to say no to things that drain
‘Hold onto hope’ and always try to
‘keep hope alive’
believe that you’ll get through this
know that you will survive
Have low to no expectations,
let what you have be enough
then let any improvement on this
be a more than welcome bonus
Celebrate all victories
even the simple things.
Make it a practice to notice
and rejoice in every win
Be cautious of ‘positive thinking,’
it may be ‘positive pretending’ instead
it may mask dealing with grief and emotion,
and prevent you from genuinely moving ahead
Find things that give you meaning
no matter how small
be that your family, friends, dog,
hobby…whatever is your ‘call’
Live in the moment
today is a new day, a new way
the future you can face when it happens
no need for worry, embrace this moment, now, today
Don’t compare your situation with others
try not to be jealous
similarly don’t be afraid
that your situation will become worse
Dare to dream, imagine
to escape, to wish to hope
keep your imagination alive
it’s a great way to cope
Keep something to look forward to
whether large or small
something to keep you going
anything at all
We are delighted to share Emerge Australia Ambassador Bloom with her rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine to open and close our podcasts.
This is amazing!!
You should be so proud of your self!!
The things you have said are things we should all be doing and not getting caught up in a World of material things trying in keep up with the Jones.
You have in a world that still doesn’t except different carved a way through with a illness.
You are stronger than me ,brave than me. A super hero. There is not enough words to say.
You talk about compassion really resonated with me. Thank you Shiloh.