Living the Lilac Principle

Ahhhh... lilacs. My favorite flower. I'll bet some of you thought my favorite flower was the rose. Nope. Lilacs are my fave, hands down. But because they only bloom once a year, roses are a great second-best flower that blooms more often.

You know the old phrase, "Stop and smell the roses"? I think stopping to smell the lilacs is even more important since their luscious blooms only happen for a short time each year. I have to remember to jam my nose into their blooms (checking for bees first, of course) and drink up all their sweet fragrance often before it's gone.

As I walk by the lilac hedge that grows along one of the main pathways from the garden to the garage and the front of the house if the lilacs are in bloom I slow down... pause... drink in the lilac's fragrance and beauty... then try to let that fragrance and beauty soak into my core so I can hold it there for the whole year.

I'm learning at the ripe old age of 45, I need to adopt that same approach with other things in my life besides the lilacs.

I've decided to call it the Lilac Principle.

My personality tendency is to find the fastest, most accurate, and most efficient way to accomplish anything (and I mean anything). But whether I like it or not my body has been forcing me to slow down. In the last few months I've discovered that I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. The two are often companion autoimmune issues particularly in women whose bodies have been hammered with the stress of advanced endometriosis. For me, the pain of the fibromyalgia is manageable with prescription medication (thank goodness) but the chronic fatigue apparently isn't. Chronic fatigue has to be managed with nutrition and lifestyle changes.

For years I've operated like a racehorse. When I'm feeling good I pile on as many physical projects as I can and go-go-go until I reach the finish line. Then, like a racehorse that's been run hard, I'd collapse in exhaustion and say to myself, "It's a good thing I got all that done before I felt bad again."

I can't do that anymore.

Chronic fatigue can be treated by light exercise and reducing stress. More than one source has stated that it is important to not overdo it on days when one is feeling good or the rebound crash will make things worse.

So instead of allowing myself to be like a racehorse (like I naturally want to be), I have to learn to be more like a plow horse that plods along at a slow and steady pace getting a job done but doing it much slower than a racehorse would like.

That's hard.

But I'm learning it is possible if I apply the Lilac Principle. Slow down... pause... drink in the moment... let the peace of the moment soak in to my core... and repeat.

Does anyone else have a way that you deal with chronic fatigue?

I'd really appreciate your insights