This week I'm trying to have mercy* on myself. When I've been struggling to open packaging instead of doing it with scissors, or trying to do another household chore before some self-imposed deadline while exhausted from my latest migraine, or berating myself for all the things I should have got done at work if I was more efficient at helping students and leaving time for paperwork, then I hear a little voice cry, 'mercy, mercy, mercy.' It's like when we were young and would get Indian burns (before political correctness) or have thumb wars until someone begged mercy. It reminds me I'm only human; I don't need to do it all; the world's not going to end if I don't… and all those other mantras I've tried over the years.
I've also come to see my migraines as a cry for mercy from my over-firing brain. The Elimination Diet (and subsequent dietary limitations) are ways of minimising the brain's stress. Taking a nap or meditating are nurturing the brain when it starts to beg for mercy.
I don't know if this mercy mantra will last any better than the others, but hopefully like the others it will serve its purpose for a time. I will remind myself to be more merciful toward myself, remembering what I can and can't do, and that might spill over into being less stressed and judgemental about others as well.
* This idea of mercy, little seen in today's world, comes from a friend, Judy, who is writing a book about it.
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