TIME2LINK

The founder of the World ME & FM Prayer and Meditation Day, Suzanne Olivante, 39, lives in the United Kingdom and for the past 15 years has lived in the County of East Sussex, in southern England. Home for Suzanne is a seaside resort, nestled among the picturesque Sussex South Downs. Prayer and meditation are an integral part of her daily life and health management 'toolkit', which she enjoys and finds great benefit from.

Above: Dusk  (c) Suzanne Olivante 2008

Below: The Seven Sisters Cliffs & Brighton Pier (c) Ian Britton www.FreeFoto.com

The idea for this event was handed to Suzanne during prayer, as a gift for the global ME & FM community. Having endured a decade of illness and exhausted from trying hard to recover and find a cure, Suzanne surrendered her dilemma to God and asked for guidance. Her prayer was answered immediately and the wonderful work of organising this prayer link was offered to her.

 "When my answer came, it was like downloading the concept in a split second" Suzanne says "I instantly knew that I was being called upon to create this link and it just felt so right. I heard the name, the time it would take place and felt filled with Divine inspiration....a kind of brand name for the event was also included as part of the concept, which has since become the event's nickname. My prayer was not answered in the way that I had anticipated at all, but I knew that I had come to the end of a long journey and that this was the next stage for me....to create this worldwide link and for sufferers and carers to unite and help one another, in a minds-on rather hands-on way. An opportunity for everyone to give and receive, no matter whether they are bed-bound or recovering, we can all benefit from connecting to our global support network."

The time2link is a non-profit event and this website is powered by freewebs.com, which enabled the site to be built cost free. The banner advertisements on the site are part of the cost free deal and are not endorsed by the founder. Any links, videos, non-time2link events featured, are included for information or support purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the founder or views held by participants of the event. The word ME has been used within the event title and throughout the website, rather than CFS. Suzanne feels that the term Chronic Fatigue Syndrome does not accurately reflect the myriad of symptoms experienced by PwME and can lead to a lack of understanding from non sufferers.

With the event appealing to folk from differing religious 'paths' both the website and the blog are presented in such a way as to welcome and  include everyone in a loving and accepting way. It is understandable that a proportion of linkers will disagree with this event being multi-faith in nature. However, with the actual linking time being free for you to enjoy according to your own beliefs, it is suggested that the views of fellow linkers, can simply be acknowledged as a different coloured thread, within the fabric of an event with a loving purpose.

The World ME & FM Prayer and Meditation Day will continue indefinitely; for as long as the respective health conditions continue to exist. At present the awareness campaign is underway and word is gradually travelling. As you can imagine this is a grand task for someone with limited health, so please feel free to make contact with details regarding support groups or organisations in your country of residence, so that press releases and articles may be forwarded to them too! Thank you!

You're also welcome to send feedback, to drop a line and say hello ....... it's always interesting to learn where in the world people are linking from and how the network is growing. Due to the volume of work involved in the awareness campaign this unfortunately means that feedback e-mails will sometimes be unable to receive replies.....but your contact is appreciated and valued, so a huge thank you in advance for your support and taking the time to write.

* Images: Seven Sisters Cliffs & Coastguard Cottages on the Sussex Downs, part of the South Downs Way, an (AONB): area of outstanding natural beauty (www.sevensisters.org.uk), The Famous Brighton Pier in Sussex, considered the finest pier in the World.  Source: www.FreeFoto.com (c) Ian Britton.

* Portrait :courtesy of Mr Self Timer Dec 2007