Saturday, September 26, 2009

Quote It Saturday 9/26


I decided to steal a feature from my book blog for my CFS blog. Another book blogger, That Chick That Reads, recently started Quote It Saturdays, where you share a favorite quote from a book. I keep a journal of favorite quotes, so I've been enjoying this new feature, but I realized that some of the quotes I write down are specifically related (at least in my mind) to the unique challenges of living with a chronic illness. So, I thought I'd share those quotes here.

The first one is from a wonderful memoir I recently read. In this quote, the author was actually referring to a break-up with a long-time boyfriend, but I think this quote perfectly captures the key to surviving any major life challenge, including chronic illness. Here, her friend is comforting her:

Then, paraphrasing Swedenborg, she said, "There is nothing that happens out of which good cannot occur." I stood beside her car in the summer sun. Some lessons take their time to seep in, but this one struck suddenly and fully with the force of a revelation: what mattered was not what had gone wrong in my life, or even how horribly wrong it had gone, but that something had delivered me to a new shore, and now I had a choice about whether I would embrace the new land or stay right where I was, resenting the ferry that had carried me.

- Building a Home with My Husband by Rachel Simon

Hope you're enjoying a great weekend!

7 comments:

Dusty Bogwrangler said...

Lovely stuff. Some shores you get thrown onto, gasping like a beached whale. Some, you kind of wade ashore. Others you pass by.

I seem to be island hopping at the moment.

Sue Jackson said...

Well said, Jo! CFIDS definitely threw me violently on shore when it first hit!

Sue

Renee said...

Oh, I really like this quote, Sue. Such a good idea too. It is easy to get stuck resenting the ferry that brought us to a different land, isn't it. This is a great idea ~ Sat. quotes...Look forward to next week's!

Pris said...

Very comforting. Thanks.

Knittah said...

And I have to thank you, Sue, for pointing me in the direction of Anatomy of Hope! Wonderful book!

“Hope can arrive only when you recognize that there are real options and that you have genuine choices. Hope can flourish only when you believe that what you do can make a difference, that your actions can bring a future different from the present. To have hope, then, is to acquire a belief in your ability to have some control over your circumstances. You are no longer entirely at the mercy of forces outside yourself.”

Sue Jackson said...

Knittah -

Glad you enjoyed The Anatomy of Hope. That passage you quoted? I have the exact same one printed out in large letters and hung over my desk!! Those are the words that saved me when I hit bottom in my first years with CFS. I think it's wonderful when words can inspire like that.

Sue

alyson said...

So true, so true. I like this quote, Sue. Thank you for sharing.