I Have a Chronic Illness. I Am a Butterfly.
You don’t know me. But you’ve seen me. There are many like me. With hearts that cry and souls that fly.
I’m a butterfly. A wispy, colorful butterfly. Fragile but deep inside, where it counts. I was blessed with the inner strength and confidence to fly. To soar through the challenges. The pain. The fear. To feel the wind on my face. To smile at the beauty around me while ignoring the pain inside. To let the sun dry my tears.
Unlike the butterfly, I never fly too far from my cocoon. Chronic pain, chronic illness is like that. You need a safe place to hide. To recharge. To simply be. Then, with the strength you’ve amassed over a lifetime of your body blowing you out of the sky, you find the will to fly again. To show your beautiful colors, your complex soul, to the world again.
I don’t like to show the ugly. That’s what my cocoon is for. It’s a safe place to cry, to huddle up in pain, to be afraid. It’s also a safe place to find my voice again. That voice that says no! Nope! This is not my identity. This is not my life. This is my struggle but it is not my definition. It is not my soul.
So I fly. I fly again. Again and again. I soar through the beautiful trees. I land on those I love. Sharing my heart, my beauty and my strength. Love is meant to be free. Life is meant to be lived. Joy is meant to be felt. The cocoon is my resting place, not my destination. Because I’m a butterfly.
I was born to fly.
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Thinkstock photo by Purestock
Lisa Prins is a binge hobbiest who is constantly throwing herself into many different projects. When she is not well enough to do one, she will find another. Music is her main love. She is a classically trained pianist, vocalist, songwriter, composer and ukulele player. She also enjoys writing, drawing, painting, crocheting, pixel bead art, photography, jewelry making, sewing, playing video games, robot building, and a number of other hobbies. Love, compassion, friendship and understanding are most important to her. They are what gives meaning to her life. Lisa was born with a congenital kidney disease called renal tubular acidosis. This combined with asthma, chronic infections, idiopathic angioedema and anaphylaxis have shaped her into a person who is thrilled to experience every bit of life and love, every sunset and every little joy that life has to offer. She lives with her incredible partner, who is, and has been, her love, her best friend, and, at times, her caregiver. She decided to start contributing her writing in the hopes she can help others know they aren’t alone, and help those who aren’t chronically ill better understand the people around them who are.
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