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A Spiral Dance

Health & Wellbeing• Politics

We Need To Talk About Ableism

General Musings

My Best 7 of 2020 (Vlog)

General Musings• Politics

Living Through History

Health & Wellbeing• Politics

We Need To Talk About Ableism

January 19, 2021
a white square with 16 icons on it depicting various forms of disability in black and blue colours. From top left to bottom right these icons are: someone in a wheelchair; a wheelchair in a house; someone in bed; someone helping another person using a cane; an eye with a line drawn diagnonally through it, a pair of dark lensed glasses, two hands using sign language; an ear with two arrows pointing to a hearing aid, someone sitting on a bench, someone using a cane, someone being pushed in a wheelchair; someone using a walking frame; a wheelchair user playing basketball, a wheelchair using a ramp, someone with a prosthetic leg using a cane; and a wheelchair user getting onto a bus.

Ableism is a huge issue in society, and yet it feels as if hardly anybody is talking about it. Outside of the disability and chronic illness communities there seems to be this attitude that ableism either doesn't exist or will never affect the majority of people, which is ridiculous because we all get ill and we all age...…

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an image split in two, with the left half having a pink background and 3 text boxes that say "7 favourite posts of 2020", "7 think I loved most about 2020" and "7 things I'm looking forward to in 2021" and the right side having a blue background and 4 numbered blocks showing the year 2020 being turned to 2021 by a hand.
General Musings

My Best 7 of 2020 (Vlog)

December 29, 2020
a globe on a desk showing parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe
General Musings• Politics

Living Through History

November 8, 2020
Health & Wellbeing

My favourite resources for the worst days

October 9, 2020
Copy of the front cover of the book M.E. Myself and I: Diary of a Psychic by Nicky Alan, which shows a woman crouching on all fours with blue and purple wings on her back. Next to the book cover is a purple background with white text saying, "Author interview: Nicky Alan"
Health & Wellbeing• Reviews

M.E. Myself and I: Diary of a Psychic – Author Interview with Nicky Alan | AD

August 23, 2020
Health & Wellbeing• My Healing Journey

Neuroplasticity and its role in recovery from chronic illness

August 14, 2020
General Musings• Health & Wellbeing

A Year of Change – June and July

August 6, 2020
People at a Black Lives Matter protest, wearing face masks due to Covid-19, and holding signs which say "if you're not angry then you're not listening" and "black lives matter"
Faith & Spirituality• Politics

Calling UK Christians – We Need To Do Better!

June 6, 2020
collage for may updates including image of a black woman wearing a t-shirt saying "no homophobia, no violence, no racism, no sexism", an image of a ginger guinea pig, and an image with the words "charity donation" and the o is a red heart
General Musings

A Year of Change – May

June 1, 2020
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Creativity• Poetry

Memories

May 12, 2020
General Musings

A Year of Change – April

May 1, 2020
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Mind, Body & Spirit

My Daily Chanting Practice

April 9, 2020
collage image of a pile of books on a windowsill with a mug of tea on top and a plant beside them; a flurry of social media icons, and a quote about loving and trusting yourself.
General Musings

A Year of Change – March

March 31, 2020
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Health & Wellbeing

Tips & Resources for Isolation from a Chronically Ill Person

March 17, 2020
Amanda in blue pyjamas reading the book Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
Giveaways• Reviews

Review of Tamora Pierce’s Books + WIN a Series of Your Choice

March 14, 2020
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Community Spirit

Posts on Gender Equality You Need to Read | International Women’s Day 2020

March 5, 2020
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Health & Wellbeing

Living With… Type 1 Diabetes | Interview with Oddhogg.com

March 4, 2020
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General Musings

A Year of Change – February

February 29, 2020
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Mind, Body & Spirit

FREE Affirmation Printables

February 19, 2020
Image of a goddess incense bowl with smoke rising from it, with crystals beside it, and a yellow plant pot and oracle card deck behind it.
Faith & Spirituality

Walking Between Worlds – My Faith Journey

February 11, 2020
General Musings

A Year of Change – January

January 29, 2020
close up image of the word "change" in a dictionary, with some of its description using terms such as "transformation" and to "become different".
General Musings

Change – My Word of The Year for 2020

December 28, 2019
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Politics

Today We Grieve, Tomorrow We Rise

December 13, 2019
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Politics

The Ecological Crisis and UK Policy | Guest Post

December 8, 2019
climate change march with someone holding a sign saying "There is no Planet B" and a drawing of the earth
Politics

The Climate Crisis and UK Policy | Guest Post

November 26, 2019
Older Posts

About Me

About Me

Hi, I'm Amanda, a 30-something mum to one. Both myself and my husband are chronically ill, and our son has ASD and ADHD. I hope to help others with chronic illness to move from overwhelmed to empowered by encouraging them to prioritise self-care, lean on faith, and build daily practices that are both accessible and affordable. I do hope you'll join me along the way.

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aspiraldance

Spoonie Warrior on a Sacred Healing Journey 🙏🏻Balancing Self Care with Family Life 👨‍👩‍👦
Christian ✝️ New Age Hippie🧘🏻‍♀️ Blogger 👩🏻‍💻 She/Her

Amanda Shortman
Just scared the crap out of O 🤣 you should have Just scared the crap out of O 🤣 you should have heard him scream, poor boy!  This tells you how rarely I do any actual pampering like this, he's so unused to it. But I'm making a concerted effort this year to focus more on self-care, especially given how hard last year was.  For most of my life I've done the bare minimum needed, I've kept myself clean but that's it. I wasn't confident enough to wear make up. I didn't feel that face masks and moisturisers were something that required my limited energy. I never used conditioner on my hair, and grabbed whatever shower gel was on the go to wash my face 😳  But the more ill I have become, the more I have realised the value in taking the time to cherish this body of mine. It has enough battles to face, it deserves a bit of love.  So I've bought some lovely face wash and face masks. Tim helped me shave my legs yesterday (or rather he actually shaved my legs as I lay like a beached whale in the bath 🤣 and let me tell you, I'm like a yeti and have way more hair than he does, so it was quite the mammoth task!) And then he let me lay on the bed whilst he moisturised my entire body. He's way better at this self-care stuff than I am.  For me this is nothing to do with how I look, and all to do with telling my body that it is worthy of being loved. And if I get to scare my son in the process, well even better 😉 (actually, he hates being scared and I honestly didn't expect it to freak him out like it did... lesson learned!)  What does self-care look like for you?  Edited to add: face mask is a Tropic one I got from an online consultations with the lovely @gingerharmonyuk  ID: a selfie of Amanda, a white woman with dark hair and dark eyes. Her hair is wet from the shower (yes, a shower the day after a bath, she's winning at life right now!) She's also wearing a green face mask.  #SpoonieLife #ChronicIllness #InvisibleIllness #ButYouDontLookSick #SelfCare #MECFS #Fibromyalgia #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #HypermobilitySyndrome #ChronicMigraines
Look what arrived today!! Apologies for the photo Look what arrived today!! Apologies for the photo quality, it's such a grey day and the lighting is rubbish. But I'm so excited and couldn't wait to share this.  Not Quite Out by @lw.writes is a book I kept seeing and almost bought when I made my first order from @queerlituk earlier this month. But 4 books felt like enough and I tried to budget myself better.  But then I saw there were only a few copies left with the signed bookplate and bookmark and couldn't resist any longer. My TBR pile is growing at an alarming rate right now, but I am so excited about all the books in said pile.  Tell me, what's on your TBR list?  ID: The book Not Quite Out by Louise Willingham, which has a pale blue front cover with two white male characters drawn on it. One has blond hair and is wearing a blue sweater over a pink shirt and looking towards the reader. The second has brown hair, is wearing glasses and a pinkish purplish shirt and is walking away from the reader but looking back over his shoulder. Next to the book lay a postcard which says "you are tenacious" on it, with 3 horizontal bands of colour in pink, purple, and blue; a blue book plate saying the same thing and which is signed by the author  and a blue bookmark with the book's title on it. They are all laying on a piece of dark purple tissue paper.
How are you all doing? I know life is hard right n How are you all doing? I know life is hard right now for everyone, so just wanted to check in with you all. I'm always here if you need a chat.  I'm personally in a lot of pain today. For once it isn't my head (yay) but rather my joints and muscles. The cold has affected them and the joints are all super loose and the muscles super tight, such a great combo!  I even managed to sublux my shoulder pretty badly getting into bed last night 🙄 Subluxing a joint is when it partially pops out of place but doesn't fully dislocate. It's what my joints tend to do (I've never fully dislocated a joint, thankfully) and mine tend to go back into position pretty much straight away. But it always leaves them extra wobbly for days afterwards.  This past week I've done it to both a finger by simply trying to open a door and my shoulder by getting into bed. You can see why I can't do anything high impact can't you? 😆 The worst part for me is the muscle spasms that continue afterwards.  Today I really wanted to type up my novel's second chapter that I'd written by hand when my migraines wouldn't allow me to look at a screen. My head felt clear enough to do it. But my shoulder muscles did not like typing at all. I managed to do it, but it required a lot of small bursts with long breaks in-between. And now my head does hurt from the tension in my shoulders 😫  Even so, I'm calling today a good day. I managed to get dressed, sort out O's school work, do some creative work, and most importantly of all I rested. I haven't drunk anywhere near enough water though, so I'm working on that now as I rest in bed. These days are such a massive improvement on where I was just 3 months ago that I cannot quite believe it.  So, tell me, how are you doing? The good and the bad, I'm here to listen to all of it.  ID: a selfie of Amanda (a white woman with auburn hair and dark brown eyes) laying in bed. She's wearing red pyjamas and smiling at the camera.  #spoonielife #spoonieproblems #spooniewarrior #hypermobilitysyndrome #ehlersdanlossyndrome #butyoudontlooksick #zebrastrong #invisibleillness #chronicillness #mecfs #chronicmigraines #fibromyalgia
Taking a break after a long week and spending some Taking a break after a long week and spending some time on a more creative project. I'm working through the breakdown of scenes in my novel, checking that the balance of Head to Tail Scenes works.  I've got to say that planning a piece of fiction in this much detail is not my favourite thing in the world. Generally I plan things briefly and then write and see where things go. But the scale of this story really does need proper planning to ensure all the threads and voices remain clear. So I do think it will be stronger for it.  Plus I still really like the idea of sharing it chapter by chapter on my blog once I get going with it more. I already have a first draft of the first half of this written, so it just needs some editing and then it will be ready to start sharing. It's more important to me that this gets read than published in the more traditional sense. And I quite like the idea of seeing people's reactions as they read along.  But thats also why I need to have it very carefully planned out, so I don't get pulled off track if someone happens to question where things are going if I start sharing an incomplete piece of fiction. I mean for all I know nobody will read it, but it's nice to think some people will. (Incidentally, you can read the first chapter over on my blog, link is in the bio, just look for The Brethren).  Anyway, that's what I'm up to today. This week has been filled with migraines and stress and anger and sadness, so it feels nice to just sit and be a little creative for once. What are you up to today?  ID: a photo of Amanda's laptop, showing a screen from The Novel Factory software with a list of scenes on the left, a blank writing window in the middle, and a section on the right for noting the character's point of view, what kind of scene it is, and what the significance of that is. The second photo is a diagram showing The Goal to Decision Cycle split into Head Scenes (Goal to Conflict to Disaster) and Tail Scenes (Reaction to Dilemma to Decision).
Look what just arrived!! My Rhett and Link bobble Look what just arrived!! My Rhett and Link bobble heads. So funny to think that I only discovered @mythical around this time last year, and now I'm squealing with excitement to receive these 😄  ID: Rhett and Link bobble heads sitting behind the GMM desk, placed in front of the box they came in which has a photo of the studio on it. You can just see the edge if my orange Good Mythical Morning mug off to the right hand side of the photo.
Did you know that there is currently a survey on t Did you know that there is currently a survey on the government website asking for the lived experiences of disabled people? No, neither did I!  Thankfully I found it the other day when someone else shared it, and so I'm sharing it with you too. Because this is important and I want as many of our voices to be heard as possible.  You can fill it in either as a disabled person or a carer (paid or unpaid) and the questions you are asked change according to your answers to previous questions, so you don't have to scroll through tons of things that are irrelevant to you.  I think it took me about 15-20 minutes to complete. I struggled with some of the scales they provided for judging how things affect me, but overall it was a relatively straight forward survey. And you can save your responses and return to it at another point, so please don't feel you can't take part because it's too much to do in one sitting.  You have until 23rd April to submit your responses. And there is a place to share if somebody else has helped you to complete the survey.  The UK Equality Act 2010 defines disability as having a, "physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities". So even if, like me, you've struggled with feeling "inadequate" for want of a better word when it comes to claiming the identity of disabled, please do take this opportunity to share your thoughts and experiences with the government.  But also look after your own wellbeing. It can be triggering to reflect on how poorly you've been treated. So only do this if you feel able to. And remember I'm always here, as so many in this wonderful community are, if you ever need to chat.  The link to the survey is in my bio (currently the second link in the list when you click onto my linktree page).  ID: a screenshot of the Disability Unit page on gov.uk introducing the UK Disability Survey showing the closing date of 23rd April 2021 and the opening date of 15th January 2021.
Got pretty darn weepy watching the Inauguration to Got pretty darn weepy watching the Inauguration today. And I know I'm not the only one. A chink of light in a dark, dark time...  ID: a screenshot of the live streaming of the Biden Harris Inauguration ceremony on Twitter, showing President Biden during his speech.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT ABLEISM - Ableism is a HUGE WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT ABLEISM - Ableism is a HUGE issue in our society, and yet it feels as if hardly anybody outside of the disability and chronic illness community is talking about it. So I wrote a post.  It's a long one, and it covers a lot of ground. It took a lot out of me to write it. But it is so important to me and I would really, really appreciate it if you would take the time to read it, learn from it, and share it. Link is in my bio, or head on over to www.aspiraldance.com and it's the first post on the page.  ID: a white square with 16 icons on it depicting various forms of disability in black and blue colours. From top left to bottom right these icons are: someone in a wheelchair; a wheelchair in a house; someone in bed; someone helping another person using a cane; an eye with a line drawn diagnonally through it, a pair of dark lensed glasses, two hands using sign language; an ear with two arrows pointing to a hearing aid, someone sitting on a bench, someone using a cane, someone being pushed in a wheelchair; someone using a walking frame; a wheelchair user playing basketball, a wheelchair using a ramp, someone with a prosthetic leg using a cane; and a wheelchair user getting onto a bus.  #Ableism #AbleismAwareness #AbleismExists #DisabilityAwareness #Disability #ChronicIllnessAwareness #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #DisabilityBlogger #ChronicIllnessBlogger
I am currently working on a blog post about ableis I am currently working on a blog post about ableism and would like to include real life experiences in it. If you'd be happy sharing yours, please let me know in either the comments or a DM, and also let me know if you'd be happy with a link back to your IG account (or blog if you'd prefer).  As much as I'd love to say you can write as much as you want, I do need to keep these relatively short. So if you'd like to share your story in more detail at a later point we can talk about a guest post on my blog.  ID: white writing on a turquoise background that says "share your experiences of ableism for a blog post I'm working on".
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