Happy Friday! Today is the dreaded Friday the 13th! Wonder what kind of weird stuff is happening? I’ve heard nights like this make hospitals, police departments and restaurants crazy. Who knows? Maybe it will be more normal than weird… 🙂
It’s smoking hot outside today! The temperature in Charlotte is over 90, so did my exercising and “chores” early so I could hit the pool this afternoon. Good times! I just can’t not provide some sort of weather update. I really should have been a weather man!
Today’s post! Well, as you can see… it’s a rather loaded title… right? The idea to write about “Living life” came to me after reading persistent chats/posts online from MS folks about being … wait for it… “Terrified”. Terrified about something! That’s for sure! Post after post with the words… “I’m afraid..” or “I’m terrified”. Most people were targeting medication, traveling, working and, most of all, the dreaded Covid Vaccine! Scary stuff… right? Well… maybe?
The picture that comes to my mind when I see stuff like that is rather negative. Does it mean folks are giving up and choosing fear over living? I understand, for example, the rhetoric around the vaccine causing people to be anxious about getting it… or not (at least in my case). Also, knowing this disease can take more and more away from you as the days go by… no one is happy thinking about that! However, words like “terrified” or “afraid” make it seem like… hmmmm… well… I just don’t think they are very helpful in life!
Yes … yes… I have preached understanding, reserving judgement and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes before passing an opinion, but just because this disease is a part of life does not give us an excuse to not participate! Can this disease push people into a corner with little to no wiggle room? Absolutely! But… if I’m telling myself how afraid I am of what may, or may not, happen next… not sure how that leads to anything positive!
We have a purpose in this life and even if it just means being able to say, “I got out of bed today”… It’s still something! Staying focused on WHAT WE CAN DO versus WHAT WE CAN’T DO or FEARING WHAT MAY HAPPEN… goes a long way in helping us LIVE OUR BEST LIVES… despite this disease!
When I start feeling bad for myself about what MS is doing to me… I think about one a good friend who passed away a few years back. Jeff was one of my best friends and a heart transplant recipient who lived with a donated heart for over 20 years. Despite a failing heart… Jeff worked and played harder than any of us… loved his friends and family… and never, even for a second, had a pity party for himself or showed any fear about what MIGHT HAPPEN NEXT! Talk about living your best life!!! 🙂 We miss our buddy Jeff… every day! Such an amazing example for all of us!
I’ll leave off here as I feel like I’m doing a poor job of expressing myself. I have been in the heat for a few hours, so perhaps I can blame a little Cognitive “Fog” on that? 🙂 Or perhaps…. I’m just doing a poor job of getting my point across! You choose! 🙂
Exciting few days coming up at my house! We move my middle son back to college to start his Junior year, while my youngest son is moving to his university to start his Freshman classes. Good times! Oh yeah… I ALSO have my next Ocrevus transfusion scheduled for this coming week… I may have to push it a few days as the calendar is full!
As always… good times!
