“Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.” ~Susan Sontag

Be compassionate to your healing body, and your loving soul, as much as you can in this very moment.

To do so, to accept it, is the very essence of being human.

By allowing self- compassion, you free yourself from the inevitable exhaustion of straining to escape your own humanity.

Pain ebbs and flows.

Struggles arise and fall.

They needn’t be set upon like they are new projects or obstacles to be broken through. Sometimes, embracing the reality of a situation is more powerful than trying to escape it.

Listen to what’s true to you at this moment.

Ask for – and grant yourself – some space.

See what work you can do from the place you are in, right now.

And then, be wholly, emphatically, grateful for it.

Grace Quantock is an award-winning international wellness expert, coach, author, motivational speaker, certified Reiki master and spiritual response therapy practitioner. She is the founder of Healing Boxes CIC and The Phoenix Fire Academy. Currently living – and thriving – with often debilitating illness, she is the real deal and knows, firsthand, the emotional and physical roller coaster that accompanies diagnosis and life struggle. Currently, a resident of Wales, Grace loves reading, gardening and early mornings. She firmly believes that life is meant to be celebrated, and has made it her mission to help others do just that …joyfully and on their own terms. You can follow Grace on Twitter.

Image courtesy of Engin Akyurt.