The Secret...

So, I'm sure most of you have heard of "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. If you haven't, you should check it out at www.thesecret.tv . "The Secret" (spoiler alert!) is basically "The Law of Attraction" and this self-help DVD and book have been making headlines - mostly positive, some negative. Whether you like/believe in "The Secret" or not, I wanted to share some of The Secret's perspective on health that I find very insightful. I hope you all find these thoughts helpful as we care for not only Peggy, but for ourselves as caregivers:

- Thinking health is something we can all do within ourselves despite what may be happening on the outside
- Laughter attracts joy, releases negativity, and leads to miraculous cures
- Disease is held in the body by thought, by observation of the illness, and by the attention given to the illness
- If you are feeling a little unwell, don't talk about it - unless you want more of it
- If you listen to people talk about their illness, you add energy to their illness. Instead, change the conversation to good things and give powerful thoughts to seeing those people in health

Obviously, The Secret is not the answer to everthing. It can't explain the tough stuff, like why ALS exsits in the first place. I'm also not suggesting that we "change the conversation to good things" every time Peggy complains of trach pain. I do however believe that it is important to take a step back every so often and get some perspective. Perhaps we can take a moment to ask ourselves if we are giving energy to illness. Can we instead say and do things to ourselves and to others that give energy to health?

Personally, I'm going to start by changing my blogging habits. I don't need to give energy to Peggy's illness by treating every minor bump in the road as headline material (this isn't Fox News). I'm going to work on only sharing the vital info about Peggy's care and any changes in protocol, medication, etc. So, if you see more posts about good health, funny stories, parties, and fun - you'll know it's because I'm hoping for more of that.