Lisa -
I know it isn't funny at all but I basically say my hands and arms are "just for show"
They look and seem to be just like other peoples hands and arms but due to bilateral TOS and several bilateral repetitive strain injuries ,and upper extremity RSD they do absolutely nada.
I save them for what is absolutely neccessary ( and a few fun things ).
My morning routine of showering blowdrying and make-up sometimes feels like climbing mount Everest .
But what's a girl to do?
I take an extra long time due to the many breaks( to rest my arms- they're tired) but such is my life now and it is the only one I have .
I will not let it "have" me.

I too am a firm believer in meditation and living in the moment .
I came this way through some very bad years when I began reading Jon Kabat Zinn- a buddhist , father professor, and at the time the head of the stress reduction clinic at UMass at Amherst.

I can recommend some wonderful books .

Wherever You Go There You Are

and

Full Catastrophe Living

Buy them for the titles alone !!!!!!!!

They certainly have excellent begining mediatation tools and common sense principles on how to live in the moment within and not withstanding your current circumstance .
It is easy to read , well written stuff - not some hard core must be a buddhist to understand mumbo jumbo- that comes later


My other favorite buddhist philosopher is Thich Nhat Hahn .He has written over a hundred books and still going.He is very funny too!
He has one beginners manual called the The Miracle of Mindfulness.

So for those that think all that meditating takes up too much time just look to good old Thich ; see how prolific he is while spending many hours a day meditating .The beauty of the practice is that it energizes ,calms and nourishes your spirit and soul to name only a few benefits of a daily habit.

Lisa - I don't envy you - A TOS doc alone would tell you NOT to drive that many hours at one time . Mine tells me 15 minutes at a time and then take a break.Of course this is an impossible rule to follow to the T, but your schedule is at the absolute opposite end of the spectrum.
My body too would be rebelling big time.
Besides the need for some pain managemet adjustments,is there any way you could incorporate some lifestyle adjustments which would be extremely beneficial to your health?

Much peace

GnP