Welcome to the Carnival of MS Bloggers, a bi-weekly compendium of thoughts and experiences shared by those living with multiple sclerosis.
The Colors of MS
by Ashley of MS Run in US blog
Every day is a brand new day and an opportunity to make of it what we want. Every day we’re faced with thousands of choices; what to wear, what to say, where to go, what to do, how to react, how much to spend, how much to save, when to indulge, when to restrict, how to love, etc. Data suggests that adults make nearly 35,000 decisions every day. The idea of it can be staggering and intimidating.
Recently a client shared with me a story about himself when he was
young. In less words then the story should be told, essentially as a
youngster he waited years for his family to have enough money to
purchase the 64 pack of crayons for art class. Until then they were
only able to afford the 8 pack of standard rainbow crayons. A few years
later after he had gotten his use out of the 64 pack of crayons he
decided to pass them on to his younger sister. Before giving them away
he notice, upon inspection, that he had only used the standard 8 colors
regularly. He so highly valued the other crayons that he was “saving”
them. He realized though that he saved them so much he didn’t even use
them!From that day forward he developed a motto: “Use all your colors!”. This is a motto he applies to all areas of his life, of which his colors are his abilities. Whether it be for work or pleasure he commits to using all of his colors/abilities.
Obviously this concept has to be applied within reason. We can’t just use all the money we have in one day or we’d find ourselves in a bit of trouble by the time the bills came. But what if we applied this to abilities that we do have in plenty: love, compassion, endurance, forgiveness, kindness, patience, humor, drive, integrity… These are all things that are given to us in immeasurable amounts. There is no end to the amount of forgiveness we posses. There is not limit to our kindness. We impose our own limits on these attributes.
What if for today and beyond we don’t limit our abilities to do these things? What if we forgive until we can’t forgive anymore, and then we forgive more?
Remember as you go throughout your day that you have a box full of colorful qualities that you can use to brighten your world. Use your colors. And when you’re tired of coloring your world, color some more.
“Happiness is like jam. You can’t spread it without getting some on yourself.” -Unknown
by Caroline of The Girl With MS
Sometimes this is not very easy to do, keeping your clothes on, with MS.
Summer months are brutal and just hiding out by the AC doesn't cut it for most folks. Planning ahead with cooling devices is best but sometimes we simply wake up in the "red zone", inflamed and sensitive, a red flag for a relapse. 
When I'm in the Red Zone the first thing done is to rate the shade of red. Am I getting a little pink or have I fried myself?And then ask myself why?
- What did I do yesterday?
- What did I eat?
- What was the temperature?
- How did I sleep?
- What's on my agenda today?
Hanging by water is a great option. Pools, rivers, lakes, oceans
provide instant relief from warmer temperatures. But not all of us have
this opportunity nor can we often remove our clothes to cool off so
improvise we must.
Quick tips:
So, How do you deal when you're in the Red Zone?Quick tips:
- Cool shower. Even Luke warm is fine. Just hop in the shower for instant cool down.
- Wet bandanna around cooling points: neck, wrists, ankles
- Ice water, drink it, pour it on your head, pour it down your shirt!
- Wet shirt, cool off body. Huge help in the Sahara when my guides put my shirt in the crocodile infested waters so I could cool off. They don't have ice on safari in Tanzania, FYI.
- Juice it! With Cooling, anti inflammatory and detoxing foods such as cucumber, apple, pineapple, etc.
- Visualize the Blue Zone:
Ahhhhh....feeling cooler already. Now, not to mess it up.
That means to watch diet and activities all day:
That means to watch diet and activities all day:
- Cooling foods
- Activities by AC
- Water, hydration
- Reduce stress and get those items checked off to-do list
- Have fun brainstorming on some new projects
- Find balance
- Be at peace
- Mellow in the "Green Zone"
This concludes the 127th edition of the Carnival. The next Carnival of MS Bloggers will be hosted here on November 22, 2012. Please remember to submit a post (via email) from your blog of which you are particularly proud, or which you simply want to share, by noon on Tuesday, November 20, 2012.