What is a victory?

I have many victories. There are hundreds of gifts that have resulted from my illnesses and fractured history. Because of adversity, I gained a resiliency that makes me a survivor and a compassionate, intelligent woman. Even when my life and health were at their worst, I had my past history of overcoming to light my way. Through health challenges, I have been invited to build the strongest relationship with myself; after all, no one loves me as much as I can love myself and no one has the time to invest in me like I do.

I am not cured: This isn't what victory means to me. I continue to have challenges on a daily basis with autoimmune disease and emotional pain. But there is an attitude and a way that I approach what happens that helps me celebrate my life. I am not striving to become "whole." After all, I am not "broken." I strive instead to find a quality in my life that allows me to live it to its fullest--healthy, happy, and capable of more healing. Healing is a lifelong process. There is always more to do, more wisdom to gain, and more attention to give to our body, mind, and spirit. I am always finding ways I can lighten the load on my immune system and create better balance. I am always striving to have more compassion with myself, my sensitivities, and my body.

Here are some of the victories I celebrate daily

1. I allow others to love me and in turn I can love myself. 
2. I value my body and self.
3. My health is a priority and I build my life around what is important to me. 
4. I know what can be toxic to me: stressors, relationships, infections, chemicals, negative thoughts, and too much fear. This awareness helps me find ways to reduce toxicity in my life.
5. I have a team of healers and physicians who view me as an expert of me.
6. I accept that what works for me may not work for someone else and I am committed to finding the things that resonate with my unique needs. 
7. When I have relapses, I have a strong past to draw from. I am comforted by the knowledge of my body's cycle of illness.
8. I am more confident trusting my body's wisdom and believe my body is capable of healing.
9.  I know when I need help and I am willing to ask for it.
10. I have empowered myself with my own "tools" for self-healing. I can use Reiki, NAET, and a variety of mind-body approaches to address my thoughts and stress. 
11. I know illness is my messenger. What am I supposed to learn from this episode in my life? When I shift my thinking to this place, I begin to shift out of the illness.
12. Casey and Bumchin Tegshjargal, Three Time United States Youth and Under-21 Latin champion.
    Photo by: Timothy WilkinsonMy Healing Wheel is always moving. It changes, expands, and balances as I learn new information and experience new things with my body.
13. I have a loving spouse who complements me and is there for me. I chose someone who can bring out the best in me.
14. I continue to invite reparative attachment experiences into my life. I am learning trust.
15. I have maintained a consistently loving relationship with my pet companions. They fill my life with unconditional love and teach me how to be present
16. Synchronicities: I notice them and embrace them. Everything happens in the perfect order and I trust this process.
17. Despite statistics and predictions by physicians, as an adult, I still have all my organs. I have never taken immunosuppressant drugs.
18. My holistic health regimens are working. I am evidence of this.
19. I celebrate daily that I am learning how to put together a unique formula for healing that nourishing my body, mind and spirit. Everyone has this capacity.
20. I am part of a community of people who want to feel better and not be at the mercy of illness or trauma. 
21. I know what JOY and PASSION look, sense, and feel like. I bring these into my life whenever and wherever possible.
22. I know how to light my own sparkle. This sparkle is the essence of me and I am proud of it. 

It is very important to me that I always look for the STRENGTHS in my life. This has allowed me to notice and NAME my victories. We all have MANY victories; unfortunately, it is difficult to find them when we draw attention to what is wrong in our lives. When in doubt, I look for the strengths and blessing in my life and then I know that healing is happening every moment of my life.

My very existence--the fact that I have lived long enough to tell my story--is indeed a victory.