I’ve been struggling to cope with a pain flare up since last week. The flare up started because I had multiple days of activity. Going out is a struggle for me. The motion in any vehicle I ride in sends pain shooting through my pelvis. Then my recovery depends on how far the ride is and how much walking I have to do when I get to my destination. Sometimes I can recover in a day but other times, like last week, when I have to go to multiple appointments or just out for the sake of leaving the house it takes days.

This pain flare up is compounded by swollen calves, ankles and feet, and more pain in my legs, back, and right hip. The hip pain is new and makes it difficult for me to sit. All of this is disrupting my sleep. So I either can’t sleep or after a couple of days of little sleep I crash and can’t stay awake – think narcolepsy.

Today, when it became clear that sleep was not an option, I decided to do something to distract me from the pain. A couple of weeks ago I started a doodle in my art/gratitude journal but didn’t know how to finish it. What was on the page was a roughly sketched frame with nothing in it. I decided to draw Gerbera daisies inside it. They are one of my favourite varieties of flowers. The brilliant brightly coloured blooms always put a smile on my face.

Gratitude & Creativity – Daisy with Frame

My art/gratitude journal is reconnecting me to parts of myself that I almost forgot ever existed, while opening me to learning many new things. But because I haven’t drawn much in years it is quite challenging for me to draw flowers. I spent a few hours sketching the daisies with a pencil. Then I used colour markers to fill in the details. I originally planned to fill the petals with bright colour, but as I coloured I felt I should leave them empty – I can always change it later. I had to concentrate hard to produce something I like. Focusing on drawing daisies distracted my mind from the pain for a little while and made the day go by faster.

Lindsey Stirling – Electric Daisy Violin