Ever feel like it’ll never end?
Last week, I got slammed with a nasty cold. I have a great immune system, so this only happens once or twice a year. I pretty much have to roll a 1 to get sick with whatever is going around.
But since my only fail is a critical fail, when I get hit, I get hit hard. I had to cancel D&D — I thought maybe I could play online to avoid contagion. I wasn’t even up to that. And on the worst days, I feel like it’s never going to end.
But I noticed that, as some days were better than others, I only felt hopeless on the bad days. The body and mind communicate with each other, and the mind can start taking its cues from the body.
If you have chronic illness, mental illness, or another condition that lingers and fluctuates, you may think, “OK, but you’ll be done in another week. This is my life.” I get that. I’m learning that the traumas that I’ve experienced are a part of me forever, and I’m learning how to respond to them.
You may think about ableism and other societal injustices and think, “It’s never going to end.” And when the news media constantly emphasizes tragedy for the sake of more clicks, it can feel like you’re in a pit with spiked walls closing in.
Our party’s wizard has a habit of looking up every time he enters a new environment. Whatever pit you’re in, look up. We’re at the top, dropping a rope down to you. Tie it to yourself, then as we pull, use the spikes as ladder rungs to do what you can from your end.
That won’t be the last trap, but we’re in this adventure together. Whatever lurks around the next corner, we’re all rolling initiative with you. |
