My Lyme Symphony is a blog about my ongoing journey with chronic illness, Lyme disease, and the continuing pursuit of healing and wellness. It is also a blog about creating something beautiful in the process.
When one thinks of a symphony, I clearly know Lyme disease is not the first thought that comes to mind. The suffering and devastation of this disease are a far cry from the intricate beauty of a major musical composition. It seems more like an oxymoron, a paradox. And yet, their opposition speaks precisely to what those of us living with Lyme work to achieve every day - to bring these differing forces of illness and the pursuit of wellness into some kind of harmonious arrangement to live and not just exist.
That isn't to say we want it to stay this way; nothing could be farther from the truth. We all long for good health and want to reclaim our lives. But in the meantime, is it possible to create lasting beauty and worth out of something so life-altering? Can we somehow harmonize the sounds of chronic illness, pain, and debility with the pursuit of healing, wellness, and wholeness to produce a new life that could perhaps be even better than our old one?
While I started My Lyme Symphony to focus on Lyme disease, including the latest news, research, treatments, therapies, etc., as well as encouraging others and documenting parts of my journey along the way, I have since discovered I can use this as a tool to help transform this long healing quest into a kind of artistic masterpiece, my very own symphony if you will.
When one thinks of a symphony, I clearly know Lyme disease is not the first thought that comes to mind. The suffering and devastation of this disease are a far cry from the intricate beauty of a major musical composition. It seems more like an oxymoron, a paradox. And yet, their opposition speaks precisely to what those of us living with Lyme work to achieve every day - to bring these differing forces of illness and the pursuit of wellness into some kind of harmonious arrangement to live and not just exist.
That isn't to say we want it to stay this way; nothing could be farther from the truth. We all long for good health and want to reclaim our lives. But in the meantime, is it possible to create lasting beauty and worth out of something so life-altering? Can we somehow harmonize the sounds of chronic illness, pain, and debility with the pursuit of healing, wellness, and wholeness to produce a new life that could perhaps be even better than our old one?
While I started My Lyme Symphony to focus on Lyme disease, including the latest news, research, treatments, therapies, etc., as well as encouraging others and documenting parts of my journey along the way, I have since discovered I can use this as a tool to help transform this long healing quest into a kind of artistic masterpiece, my very own symphony if you will.
Music is a big part of how I deal with this illness. It's a big part of my life, period. And many studies document the powerful benefits of music and sound on our health. So analogizing this Lyme journey in the context of a musical opus seems fitting.
Like the complex rise and fall of each orchestral movement, so are the highs and lows of this Lyme journey. There are many complexed parts, but through it all, I keep working, persevering, hoping, praying, and believing for a most beautiful ending.
Many days, like so many of you, all I can do is endure the bone-crushing fatigue, fevers, pain, and other myriad symptoms that are a part of this complicated disease complex. It can be challenging to keep a good perspective when so ill and debilitated, but I desire to make something beautiful out of all this suffering. In fact, I think it's necessary.
It could be easy to see this as nothing but a sad, terrible, and disappointing waste of life, but I refuse to accept that. This is why I think it's essential to find and create something beautiful and meaningful out of this ugly mess. And while it is certainly a struggle some days, I believe nothing is wasted. My faith and trust in Jesus Christ stabilize and assure me of this.
My Lyme Symphony is a novel work that's in process.
While I did not ask for Lyme disease (my goodness, who does?), it has cocooned me off from the ordinary and forced me to transform my life in ways I never imagined.
When I do emerge from this long and arduous journey, I hope and pray I’ll have developed a truly unique and inspired sound, a sound so genuine, solid, and beautiful it could only be divinely birthed out of this hardship, pain, and suffering.
It's a sound already in the making—the sound of my Lyme symphony.
Michelle
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