Believing in Better Days When You Have Lyme Disease

Never give up.

Three little words that have become a popular totem, plastered over coffee mugs and merchandise of all kinds, slogans for events and organizations, and a fighting phrase for the downtrodden and the inspiringly uplifted alike.

The phrase that we sometimes hear or see and wish we hadn’t. Because, really. Again? In a world that has the ability to break the strongest of us, the phrase’s fad-like incessantness can have us, at times, inhaling a big, slightly annoyed breath, thinking, “Does this even mean anything anymore?” Sometimes these well-meaning clichés can feel like hollow, overused words on a circulating meme. Especially when we are in a moment of doubt, frustration, or hopelessness.

But maybe “never give up” is exactly what we need to hear. Because this is also a world that has the ability to build us into the absolute best version of ourselves…if we let it. So, what does it mean to never give up?

For something that seems so straightforward, perhaps sometimes it’s not. Many times never giving up is portrayed as two groups – one of persistence through obstacles culminating in a momentous or ultimate overcoming and joy, even if moderate. And two, one of simply withstanding life, even while being pummeled. While both are undoubtedly true, what does never giving up really encompass?

When I first sat down to write this, my mind went over example after example of all the incredible ways people don’t give up. And I was at a loss at how to articulate what I actually wanted to say, as if ten various examples would even cut it. Because there are countless. That wasn’t what I was aiming for.

But instead, it’s this. To never give up is to simply believe.

Whatever it is we’re up against, whatever it is we’re facing, whatever it is we are fighting for--we keep going because we believe. In the small obstacles, the mundane trials, the life-changing events, the moments where we can’t see the light, and others where we feel it right around the bend. In the doing what’s right for us, even under opposition.

We believe in better days, we believe in the good, we believe in love and joy and peace and success, we believe in others. But most importantly, at the very core, we believe in ourselves.

Every act we choose to not give up on ourselves is one of the greatest we could ever take.

Those three little words that have become a popular totem in our culture, they mean this: choose to believe. Because everything we want for our lives is undeniably possible. Because we have the choice.

Because why not?

Meg Walling is a passionate, strong-willed, country-at-heart, conscientious nature lover from rural Upstate NY. She was diagnosed with Lyme and co-infections in early 2014 after going undiagnosed and misdiagnosed for a large portion of her life. Chronic illness is life changing on so many levels, but Meg is living by trying to turn these circumstances into a positive one. Want to know more about Meg? Find her on social media! Instagram: @meg.walling Facebook: Wellness Inspired