The Health Activist’s Writers Month Challenge – Day 21 Adversity

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.” – Mulan True or false? When do you bloom best?

Adversity -  a state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty or adverse fortune (Definition from Merriam-Webster online dictionary)

I had to read the prompt a couple of times just to make sure I was understanding this correctly.  I then looked up adversity to make sure I understood the definition correctly (I did).    So basically if you deal with and grow with adversity, you are great.   Thank you for that complement Mulan….was it the actual woman that said it or the Disney character??  Just wondering.

I say all of this because I think someone with a chronic incurable disease has serious or continued difficulty all their life.  I have met so many people now with IBD that have it rough every day.  For some, there is no break in the pain.  For many of us with IBD, living with the difficulty isn’t adversity…it is life.  It becomes who we are.  So yes, these people are very beautiful…and strong..and brave.  They fight their fights and continue to move on with their lives.  That is why I refer to them as IBD Warriors. 

But when do I bloom.  Well, I don’t live the life of chronic pain.  My Crohn’s is mostly under control and manageable.  I am lucky.  But there are times when adversity hits.  I bloom when that adversity does hit.  I look my challenges in the eyes and tell it that I won’t let it stop me.  I am strong and will fight on.  I will never let adversity stop me.   So what if I have to go to the bathroom 30 times a day.  I make the best of it and enjoy the time I am not in there.  So what if you make me nauseous and weak.  That just means I can rest up and catch up on some sleep.    And the best part is that I get to talk with my community and that helps give me the strength to fight adversity.

We are a community of doers.  When the fight comes to one of us, we band together and help each other.  We don’t let one person stand alone.  When adversity hits one of us, it hits all of us.  Instead of being the lone flower in the desert trying to open up, we are like a jungle.  When one of us blooms, we all open up so no one is alone.