Hey everyone!
Anyone else on here get migraines? I’ve been getting them more frequently lately. The irony being that I have overhauled my life considerably to be less stressful, and yet…the migraines persist.
This week during Tammy Evans’ PUSH group (which I’ve talked about here before), she gave us two prompts inspired by a poem and a piece of flash fiction that got me thinking about my migraines.
I’ve come to the conclusion that my migraines are a way of forcing my body to slow down and mother myself. The problem is…I don’t know how to be a mother. You’d think it would be easy to know how to take of yourself, but the fact of the matter is, knowing what you need in order to heal takes work and patience and compassion and commitment. Sometimes healing takes learning to say no, to set boundaries, to make sure you are giving yourself breaks. Those things are hard when you’ve spent a whole life not doing them. But for me, personally, I’m committed to trying.
So, what was the prompt, you ask? Let me share.
Writing Prompt: Read this micro fiction piece by Jon Jon Moore. Then, write whatever comes to mind based on a line that stood out to you or a topic that was uncovered in the text.
This is what I wrote.
Migraine – Age 3
I don’t remember the pain. It’s someone else’s memory, but I wonder why it came. And stayed.
How can you be the mother and the child, tending to a wound that never healed and a need that was never met and a trauma you can’t remember?
How can you love being well without being sick?
Body, we don’t need this age old ache any longer.
It helped you survive, but now it’s time to set it aside.
I don’t need to be begged to slow down. I’m here for you. I hear you.
No matter how quiet your voice. No matter how silent your whisper.
That’s it for now, friends. I hope this inspired you to keep on keeping on through your journey, whatever your journey may be. And I wish you a week filled with healing and happiness. Until next time!
Robyn Neilsen 