More Than My Illness

It has been bothering me that, so far, this blog is about living with MS. (Two whole entries--you can tell how patient I am!)

In the last few years getting Dancing with Monsters (the book) to the world has felt like an important mission to me, but I'm determined that it--and my life--not be entirely about illness. The point isn't that MS stinks. The point is that understanding chronic illness as a creative process has made it easier for me to endure.

I met with the "first reader" of my manuscript yesterday (thanks, Barb!) and she told me (among other things) that the parallels between creative process and illness are not well explained.

That message strengthened a call back to painting that I've been feeling lately. What a relief, what a JOY, to put paint on paper again! It's a mystery that I hold myself back from something that nourishes me so well.

The challenge (the Overwhelm) is to describe the painting process in words because any graphics within the text of the book cost me $100 apiece and I am a cheapskate. Can I do it?

[Part of me answers: "Who cares? Just paint!"