I cannot travel much, unless I really have, like when I go to New York to see my neurosurgeon. I can't go to small events even nearby, it's all just too much.
So, I have discovered that to make even small things very special will go a long way to meet my personal needs. The sight of a new-to-me throw pillow I picked up at the thrift store for $1 gives pleasurable feelings. Instead of just making a sandwich, I "do it up grand" with one of my homemade pickles on the side, a little bit of cut-up watermelon, half of a non-alcoholic beer in a pretty, etched glass picked up at the senior's thrift shop and frosted in the freezer, maybe a few chips or crackers on the plate, then head outside to a little table and listen to the wind chimes and birds in the trees and I swear I'm at a resort someplace.
I could just lie down on a bed and read, or better yet, take some pillows and a blanket, a footstool and sit outside in the shade and I think I'm at the beach, only better!
Each day, you can be inspired to make the banal and commonplace special, extraordinary and sublime. Without spending a bit of money extra, you can trick your brain into thinking you are on Maui or up in the mountains at a ski lodge. Light a pine-scented candle at night while you watch television...turn on a lilting symphony of music while you do at-home PT or other therapy.
If you cannot go to the ocean or a lake, take a pan of water out on the back porch and good book, and soak your feet and splash them around and imagine being on a dock with your legs dangling in the cold water. Endorphins are there for the taking and it takes very little to release their power.
The other day, I ordered on ebay (for $12) a hammock. The glorious yet unassuming package arrived at our rural mailbox across the road, and I hung it between a pine and some oaks up on the hill behind our house where I can see it beckoning to me. And I can thank God for chronic illness because now I have time to sit in a hammock!
Try not to focus on the negative and what you can't do...I can't take care of my flower garden and yard like I used to, even last year. So what? There will be more weeds for the pulling, but then again, I can walk past and reach down and pull a weed once in awhile, and hey, I can be thankful I have something to do!
Well, I need to go get my novel and try out that new hammock!
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