With Thanksgiving coming up it's a good time to reflect and be thankful. I would suggest that being thankful should be a daily thing. I realize some people are going to ask why on earth would I say "be thankful" when my MS is giving me hell? Am I just an insensitive jerk who only sees things through rose colored glasses? Not for a second. What I am saying that it is a positive and productive thing to do regardless of your situation.
Everybody is in a different place with their MS and life. Maybe you feel like you are circling the drain or maybe your health has improved or you have no changes at all. No matter where you are at with health and life it is helpful to be thankful. Being thankful is the recognition that even if your situation is far less than what you would like it to be it could be worse. For instance I read an article on the Philippines storm aftermath. What stuck with me was the reporter approached a man walking by only wearing one shoe. The reporter asks "why are you wearing only one shoe?" the man replies "I lost my wife, children and home and the shoe I am wearing was my sons and it was the only thing left". I read this and paused to think about that. His entire family and home was destroyed in the storm. For me this story makes being thankful for every relationship and everything little thing we have very easy.
At her lowest health point Jenn was in a wheelchair and spent 5 years in it. She would see a disabled child or someone battling cancer and say "I am in a wheelchair but it can always be worse". I think it's important to be thankful for what you do have. It is easy to get sucked into the "what I don't have" attitude. Regardless if you have MS or not I think everyone has experience this to a certain degree. We are bombarded with advertising telling us if we don't have this or that then we are missing out. Of course the advertisers are going to say that to create a desire to purchase their product or service. It wouldn't be good advertising to say "if you use (insert product or service) your life probably won't change but it's pretty cool!". That wouldn't sell anything. The truth is that we all would like something more. The more could be anything. More time with family, more nights of solid sleep, more money, more electronic goodies or more "good" days health wise.
We live in a hyper fast paced world. Do it, do it now and do it for less money. It creates a lot of stress and can distract you from pausing to just take a look around and see what you are thankful for. Here is a challenge for you. Take 5 minutes with no computer, cell phone, television or anything that can distract you. If you have a chaotic household with lots of noise maybe go into a closet or someplace that you can find some peace and quiet. During this 5 minutes think about everything you have to be thankful for. It is pretty incredible when you do this. You start out with the basics of having a place to live, food and clothing. I think when you are done you will have a clearer understanding of everything you have to be thankful for.
With all of this said I hope you have a great Thanksgiving holiday and enjoy some great food!
Next post: Don't poke the bear.
Thanks for reading,
-Brent
Reject Defeat
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