Ms. Dale C. Thurlow
MsDale@thedline.com

Part 1. Star light. . . Star bright. . .

As she gazes upon the star-lit sky__
Her longing to experience true love - intensifies...
This woman, within her, will she ever be free?
"Shush...little lady." "You no longer have any normalcy."

"But why?" she asks tearfully "Should I be left out?"
"To experience - true - unconditional love - the kind with no doubt?"
A voice whispers down gently, "I understand the kind of love you seek."
"But dear.... the drugs - the disease -- go now...take a peek."

"I see the effects..." she admits, as she looks at herself
"Am I destined to place my heart - to collect dust, on a shelf?"
Within her comes a scream...."Wait!" "There's so much more to me!"
"Please. . .can't you see?"
"My heart - my soul - my spirit - I am me. . .I'm still me!"

As she gazes upon the star-lit sky__
A voice whispers down gently, as she looks upward - misty eyed
"I shall guide each person, who looks upon me in the heavenly skies,
not to judge a person by their cover -- but by what is inside..."

* Ms. Dale C. Thurlow

*Authors note:
Do not squelch your feelings,
from razor sharp words in your past.
Those minds will stay shallow...
your love and strength will surpass.
Never - never stop gazing
upon the stars where you wish . . .
And do not treat a life lightly,
for it is truly - to be cherished.

Part 2. Living With Chronic Illness * Ms. Dale C. Thurlow

CHRONIC ILLNESS - it can rip right into the "core of your being." It can be over whelming and your worst enemy.
Unfortunately - statistics show the numbers are high - in the devastation done to lives - from the interruption of chronic illness. Be it a spouse, a lover, family, friends, and/or your own self worth - it can all be altered drastically.
Like the dropping of a bomb - into your life - when all was normal one day - and then destruction happened. You had no warning......no clue......no time for preparation......no power to control its wrath and evil.

The war taking place within your body. This battle waged against you - by the invasion of chronic disease and the drugs used to combat it. It is happening - your life changing before your very eyes - the stress of living with something so " alien." You want to scream...."What is happening to me?"

But wait........no matter what has happened - you are still - YOU inside. Your spirit and your soul is your strength - and you can still fight and you can still win - because your attitude is stronger than any illness - any sharp words - or the loss of what you once thought was concrete love. You cannot control the behavior of others - but you can still go forth radiating all the goodness you have within your own heart.

Of course...we all have times of feeling sadness. You miss "that person" you used to be. And now...these foreign feelings are happening to you. You may be feeling - upset - out of control - un-worthy - inadequate - LOST - and your brain is screaming. "I am sick of being sick !

With chronic illness - there is NO consistency - of how you can feel. It can change so rapidly in minutes - hours - or on a day to day basis. The difficulty you begin to think - YOU cause to people - because you are sick. The stress it puts in the relationships - with a spouse - a child - a friend, etc. "Well - yesterday you were feeling ok!" "And now today - when I need you or we have plans - you say...you can't!"

Like...you are doing this by choice?

Chronic illness does change your life - in many ways.

Some of you may have a spouse - a special someone - the devotion of your family - the friendships built of strength.
And some of you...may feel very very alone.....But no matter your situation - please... love yourself - be good to yourself - and live each day for the gift it is.

The words in the writing you have just read - Star light... Star bright... - were done in the "she" form - but my hope is that they will be felt deeply by man - woman - or child - for their meaning and content. Felt by those...who have someone, it may give you the chance to share it with them - to say thank you - for standing beside me. It will also be felt by many... whose lives have been torn apart by chronic illness and they are alone, hurt and struggling.

But what I hope most will happen to all. . .is that with the compassion that exists within all our hearts - you will think very long and hard before ever passing judgment on another human life. For no one makes a choice to open a door and let chronic illness come into their home - but we can make a choice of what we do about it and how we deal with it.

And may these words you have read, touch your heart as deeply as they did mine, when I wrote them.
*Ms Dale