There has been a few times when I wanted to write, but I resist.

I am resistant to complain, putting out my complaints and my frustrations out into the world. Not that they aren’t valid – because objectively they are. I often ask Sheila, “Just looking at this face value, this is something to be frustrated about, right?”

She without a doubt replies – “Yes.” While understanding that the “this” doesn’t matter, because the “this” details when complaining are quite blah. Other details in life, on the other hand, is its’ own making.

By ranting I have found doesn’t make me feel better it makes me feel worse because I have given my energy to this frustrating situation. My blood pressure sometimes rises and it begins to fester. It is ugly.

So – how does one accept the frustrations as the reality and let it to only simmer and not become crusty? Acknowledge, but acknowledge and ask – “How can this be different next time? How can I change things to reflect a positive outcome?” “How can I make this not happen again?” In conjuncture, I often say, “This will not happen again.”

By this approach it helps be let go of the frustration. And with that – I have started a gratitude journal.

The idea I first heard was proposed, promoted from Oprah and “The Secret”. I love it. What you put your energy into it is exactly what will come back to you. By focusing on what you have, that will only grow, emphasize, reverberate. Nothing new can come into your life unless you are grateful for what you have. Your thoughts become your feelings, which become your actions: so first thoughts, then feelings, and finally actions. That is how you change things. When you don’t know what your thoughts are at times, you can pretty much figure them out by how you feel.

I am not going to recite “The Secret” entirely, that is why it is there. And I am a student, still in practice.

What I do know – and has been a huge presence in my life for years and I have written about this before, but by replacing, exchanging certain words altogether for more positive ones changes your health as a whole. Words I use – health, goodness, warmth, silence, peace, life, breath, and laughter, on-words and up-words! I refuse to use their opposites, which you can come up with a few. I have a strong distaste for them, so I don’t like to use them at all. I believe that certain words can harbor feelings, sometimes deeply, and can be harmful inside.

Also, I made that list a few blogs ago of things to help me place myself in activities that help me feel these things. The idea is to do all these often and with frequency that promotes a life of peace. It all leads to gratitude.

On that note, I wanted to share a specific challenge having CF while traveling. And because Sheila always says, “We will figure it out”, we do and it becomes reality.

I realized two days before we checked-out from our condo in Hawaii – which was an absolute gift beyond words – we would check-out at noon and fly-out after 9pm that evening. We would land in California after 5am with an hour and half layover, then continuing straight-through from California to Boston. So, adding this up, I could do my morning treatment, but what about my evening? We won’t be someplace to plug-in my devices and a place to do them. I would then miss my evening treatment and for sure my morning one as well – resulting in a complete 24 hours without a treatment. To miss one treatment is borderline, but never two.

We needed a plug-in power converter, inverter for the car. It had to be two-prong and not an USB connection which is so highly popular now. We were on the search! We went to three places and then finally because of all the lovely, beautiful people in Hawaii we were lead to O’Reilly Auto-parts and they had the cigarette plug-in on one end and a two-prong plug inverter on the other. It not only worked, it provided adequate power as if I plugged-in my machines into the wall. I had to do my treatment in two parts, which was fine. I was relieved!! Would I die without it for a night? No. Would I feel like shit – it is very possible and then just knowing that the crap is building inside.

So in my pictures, this is what you would call CF on the go! Say “Hi” to E.T., he has been with me and traveled with me on many trips. He has been a good friend, very reliable. I have appreciated him immensely. My other friend is my new one-pound air compressor that I purchased for this trip. It had the volts and PSI just like my bigger ones! And now I have a third friend, the power inverter. I will never leave home without them! Ah..Technology.