{"id":2115,"date":"2016-09-17T22:17:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-17T22:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=2115"},"modified":"2016-09-15T22:18:54","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T22:18:54","slug":"chronic-illness-avoiding-the-limelight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/09\/chronic-illness-avoiding-the-limelight.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Illness: Avoiding the Limelight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image
Image Courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’m still thinking of the amazing creature that turned up at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of California. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the link:\u00a0http:\/\/nautiluslive.org\/video\/2016\/08\/12\/googly-eyed-stubby-squid<\/a>\u00a0The poor purple, stubby squid must have been terrifed at the sudden bright light that spotlit it, alone on the barren sea floor. Nearly all eyes, its stare was in contrast to the comments of the scientists who were exploring the area. Oohs and ahs…from them, I can only imagine what the little creature was thinking.<\/p>\n

I’ve felt like this little squid looked, sometimes,and you might have, too. Among strangers at a party, perhaps you did everything the make yourself look small, inconspicuous, or invisible. At a recent gathering, a well-meaning member of the group wanted to demonstrate how a particular hat he had would look on my head. As he reached out to tug at a “curl,” IO absolutely jumped away, knowing the gesture would dislodge my wig and that was something I didn’t want revealed at a social event!<\/p>\n

Yes, sometimes, we do everything we can to avoid the limelight.<\/p>\n

Yet, it’s important for us to get out, meet people, even put ourselves in situations (positive situations, of course) that stretch our social skills and let us see new ways of living, new horizons, and new potential friends. It takes courage to do this, and strength of will. And sometimes the pull of the alternative of curling up with a good book in a quiet room is too powerful to overcome. But, we can try.<\/p>\n

As the undersea camera and light faded away from “little stubby squid,” the creature remained fixed to its spot, its big eyes still watching, taking it all in. No telling what the little thing did after the light had completely gone away. But I’d like to think that the experience of being in the limelight was not all terror and awe, but was also somewhat fresh. Perhaps, even, enlightening (pardon the pun).<\/p>\n

I hope its that way for you, too, as you put yourself “out there” and allow others in. Each of us has wonderful qualities that can enhance conversations and bring compassion and goodness. Each of us has something to give. Like the little stubby squid, we can be memorable in a very good way. If we don’t shrink when the spotlight turns to us!<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m still thinking of the amazing creature that turned up at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of California. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the link:\u00a0http:\/\/nautiluslive.org\/video\/2016\/08\/12\/googly-eyed-stubby-squid\u00a0The poor purple, stubby squid must have been terrifed at the sudden bright light that spotlit it, alone on the barren sea floor. Nearly all eyes, its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[29,2214,2213,2215,2211,2212],"class_list":["post-2115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chronic-illness","tag-limelight","tag-shyness","tag-socializing-and-being-sick","tag-stubby-squid","tag-under-the-sea"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Illness: Avoiding the Limelight - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Illness: Avoiding the Limelight - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I’m still thinking of the amazing creature that turned up at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of California. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2115"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2119,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2115\/revisions\/2119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}