How are you doing?

When is the last time you asked a loved one, "how are you doing?"

When is the last time you didn't just listen, but empathized? Did you wait for a genuine answer and try to help your loved one be supported in the way they needed? Maybe that loved one didn't even know what they needed, but your time and company helped aid them through a moment of struggle.

I have found that often our most difficult times in life happen when we don't know how to help ourselves or others. We find ourselves feeling so much care and anguish at once - if only we could provide a "magic solution", but that's just the thing. There isn't one. All solutions require hard work, and not everyone is ready to earn their happiness or other positive life outcomes.

I have found also that people with type 1 diabetes or other chronic diseases and conditions often know best that we can't linger in our moments of struggle too long, or we'd likely feel down all the time. How we perceive our lives, and more so - ourselves, matters. We can hope, fight, and earn the outcomes we want, or we can pity ourselves and perpetuate misery. We can deal with difficulty and move through it, or avoid it and move in circles around it while the problem inflates and lingers in our psyche and every day happenings.

Facing life isn't easy. This life can be difficult, though it's simple, and when we come together for a common goal, we are reminded of the simple value support offers us. We need each other. The more we can serve each other in positive ways, the better off we all are in life, whether through genuine conversation, a hug, advocacy, a petition signature, or whatever may have you.

I hope, whatever struggles you had this week, you made it through them and didn't linger in your downtimes too long. I hope you were empowered and supported in the way you needed by a loved one who genuinely cares. I hope you showed yourself care even if you think you didn't deserve it. I hope you powered through those moments. I hope you showed the same to someone else.

Sunday often provides moments of reflection for me...

I don't know about you, but as I think about this campaign and proposed bill in our state, I can't help but wonder when our movements will conclude with the outcome we all desire - to lower the high drug costs in this country for good.

Feel what you have to through times of struggle, but don't linger in those feelings too long. Let yourself be human. Forgive yourself for your human moments. It's healthy to let it all out. Just keep moving through and forward. Feel anger, but don't be angry. Channel your feelings into something positive whenever possible, and it is always possible, so long as you are willing to mold your perception onto a bright path. I'm not telling you how to live, I just hope to inspire you to realize that you are capable - more capable than any dark moment, struggle, or frustration. More so, I am wishing you genuine happiness and calm in life. 

Though we face struggles by human nature, we are always better than our darkest moments. Here's to finding light and hope in the week.

I hope your past week was great, and this one is equally so.

Julia