The Mountain Poem

[Marina]

This poem, originally written for mental health, could also apply to Multiple Sclerosis where fatigue and pain are invisible and helps explain how we may cope with it.

 

If the mountain seems too big today,
then climb a hill instead.
If the morning brings you sadness,
it’s OK to stay in bed.
If the day ahead weighs heavy
and your plans feel like a curse,
there’s no shame in rearranging;
don’t make yourself feel worse.
If a shower stings like needles
and a bath feels like you’ll drown,
if you haven’t washed your hair for days,
don’t throw away your crown.
A day is not a lifetime,
a rest is not defeat;
don’t think of it as failure,
just a quiet, kind retreat.
It’s OK to take a moment
from an anxious, fractured mind,
the world will not stop turning
while you get realigned;
the mountain will still be there
when you want to try again,
you can climb it in your own time.
Just love yourself till then.

 

By Laura Ding-Edwards

 

Thanks to @Shirl who kindly sent me the poem.

[Nick]

I hadn't read this before this morning. It's poignant, particular when it has resonance with my own experience of living with MS. As pointed out it was originally written with regard to Mental Health, not MS, yet there is always the mental challenge of coping with MS.

As for mountains, I tend to stay clear of such things and concentrate on the smaller hills.

 

Nick