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What do you need a permission slip for?
Recently, I saw a forum member use the phrase, “I have given myself permission to…” when talking about how they are spending their time as an older person with PF. So often we put all kinds of rules and expectations on ourselves about how we “should” live our life, and what we “should” be doing with our time.
Most of us feel guilty when we let our to-do list slip through the cracks, or we don’t live up to our own expectations. It was refreshing to see someone say, “I refuse to live by the books today… I have permission to sit in the sun doing nothing, and rest.”In the spirit of rebellion, I would like you to write yourself a permission slip for something every day. Your permission slip should be for something you’d normally beat yourself up for, or view as self-indulgent, “lazy”, silly, boring, or dumb. I know we all have those things! Pick one, and give yourself permission to do that thing instead of a chore, if that’s what you feel like doing–no guilt attached.
For me, today, that is sitting down to write some poetry instead of mopping the floor. What is something you are giving yourself permission for today? Or is it something you have already given yourself permission for that is longer-term?
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3 Replies
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Good question Christie. Shortly after my diagnosis, I decided surrender was not an option. That decision led to me living my life to the fullest. If you have ever looked at the profile picture here in the Forums or in my column there is a tattoo… Make Every Breath Count runs from my wrist to my elbow. It is also the name of my column here. It was my “permission slip” and daily reminder. Sam …
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I have noticed your tattoo Sam, and like it very much 🙂 My version of that is “plant the damn garden”, which my friend Kathleen (a heart and lung transplant survivor, and the friend who got me started here at BN) made into a cross-stitch wall hanging for my office.
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I have given myself permission to:
1. Occasionally feel depressed
2. Eat what I like
3. Do nothing and enjoy it
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