Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Balance in Life with Diabetes


Health Mascot. As a Health Activist, your voice is prominent within your specific health community. A mascot is associated with a distinct group or team. Branding your voice with a mascot can be an imaginative and gratifying activity. Here, you can pay tribute to your favorite mascot or you can create an original character. Ensure, whichever you decide to go with is related to your Health Activism. So for today’s prompt – give yourself, your condition, or your health focus a mascot. Is it a real person? Fictional? Mythical being? Describe them. Bonus points if you provide a visual!

For those of you not familiar, my condition is Type 1 Diabetes.  When thinking about today's prompt, I was a little stymied.  We all know that the DOC has it's mascot's.  Cupcakes, Unicorns, even Bacon could be considered the DOC's mascots.  But for myself, diabetes has never been about any of these things.  Don't get me wrong, I've eaten my fair share of Cupcakes, love bacon, and have even sung songs about Unicorns.  But what is Diabetes about to me. 

Well, I guess, after many years, I have finally figured out that it is about Balance.  Yes, balance.  It's sort of like walking a tightrope.  Picture yourself, way up in the air, standing on a wire, wind blowing, stuck half way between two incredibly tall buildings, sun shining down.
(photocredit)
Living with Diabetes is a balancing act.  Whether you are the diabetic or you are a parent of a CWD, it is all about balance. 

  • balancing carbs with insulin
  • balancing exercise with food and insulin
  • balancing anxiety and stress
  • balancing glucose
  • balancing hormones
  • balancing basal rates
  • balancing sleep
  • balancing life
This is going on 24/7/365.  It is never-ending.  It almost becomes something you don't really have to think about.  And so you slip.
(photocredit)



  As Diabetics, it happens to all of us at some point.  Try as we might, we  will slip. But that's okay.
We just have to find Balance again.  For some of us it takes longer than others.  And that's okay too.

So here is my Symbol. 
(photocredit)

This is the triform. In Waldorf education, the familiar head, heart, and hands, or thinking, feeling, and willing, is represented by this simple triangle.  It is simple, but holds everything I need to remind me of how it all comes together.  I liked this too, because the triangle is surrounded by the Blue Circle.  So for me this is what i am trying to achieve.  Balance in life with Diabetes.

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