A while ago I wrote a post titled “Migraine Snakes and Ladders” about a rough migraine I experienced which involved a lot of projectile vomiting (sorry). It was a pretty grim post reading back through it. I confessed to feeling distressed by the setback in my health and feeling bitter that all the progress I had been making felt like it had been reversed by a single migraine attack.*
In the replies, another blogger, the lovely Dayle of the Tip of My Iceberg blog, ended her reply with: “There’s hope in just doing today. And you’re doing that!”
It was a simple, heart-felt reply, but the take-away also felt incredibly profound.
Keep Doing Today.
There really are some days that feel like getting up is hard to do. Showing up for others is even harder… Those are the days I remind myself to switch from “let’s just get through this week” to “get through today” – or even, on those really sick days; “hour by hour, you can do this, keep it together, just make it through today, hour by hour…”
Keep Doing Today.
The phrase has a wonderful all-situation-versatility to it:
+ There is a sense of deep empathy that can resonate through the words: “I know that some days are tough, but you are strong, keep going, keep growing, keep doing today.”
+ It can be an encouraging mantra, even a hyped-up-cheer: “woo hoo me, woo hoo we, keep doing today, hip hip hooray!”
+ There’s also a laser-like mindfulness-focus to it: “the past is history, tomorrow’s a mystery, so make today count – focus on the here and now – keep doing today.”
+ Perhaps what I like best, is that as well as being both grounding and uplifting, it is unifying: “we’ve all been in a situation where everything feels overwhelming, here is a reminder that you’re not alone as we go through this life together apart; keep doing today.”
Part of that versatility (I suspect) relates to which word you chose to emphasize.
KEEP – persist – keep trying, keep moving, keep at it…
DOING – act – don’t let this day, or any other slip you by; time is precious, make the most of it, do something, anything, to make the most of the situation…
TODAY – now – this day, this unit of time, this moment, the here and now, this – just this, (this oh-so-precious ‘this’!)
On the worst of days, focus on persevering. When things get better, see what you can do to improve your situation, and hopefully find some small joys. On those days when things are going well, then employ mindfulness, breathe into the moment and savor it…
This post is slipping out of my hands as I try to articulate what I’m thinking and feeling… I don’t want to emphasize the struggle, I want to illuminate this post with the same ray of hope that Dale’s words made in my happy heart… with luck, there’s enough of a frame here for you to imagine the details of how you might keep doing today, your way.
Keep doing today peeps, because you can.
Take care taking care, always, Linda x
PS – I know that in the United States today is “July 4th” and therefore “today” will take on extra meaning for all of you who live in the USA. But at the risk of sounding rude, the world is a bigger place than any one country, so to everyone, everywhere, I reiterate; keep doing today YOUR way.
* PPS – Quick reminder lesson for me and you – according to the Australian Migraine guideline for language protocol, the phrases “migraine attack” and “migraine episode” are both used to describe individual moments of extreme symptoms. I use both terms, but do so depending on the severity of the event – “episode” explains a discrete moment in time I am feeling unwell, but “attack” better describes the full-frontal assault on my mind, body and soul that a full-fledged migraine entails. Given I live with chronic migraine and daily issues such as light and noise sensitivity as well as constant low-level pain in my right eye, saying “attack” helps me and my family know that I’m talking about a time when I have to go to bed and pull the covers over my head – not all the other days when I’m still functional whilst still pushing through some migraine symptoms. It sounds like a super-subtle, maybe even too-nuanced distinction, but for chronic migraine people it is an important way of clarifying their situation. xx
The Mindful Migraine 
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