Peace and Joy—

Jen

Take heart: although we are challenged on a daily basis, we can track what we achieve, because it ALL COUNTS. I used to think that major accomplishments were necessary to feel important or validated. I have to be candid and completely honest with you now— some days just getting out of bed IS the day’s accomplishment! It’s true. So I log this achievement and treasure what it means on particularly challenging days.

Here are some ideas for you to start your own MS accomplishment log:

• choose an inviting notebook to log your achievements
• set up your log in a simple manner, much like a journal with daily entries
• you can list your daily accomplishments or write about them in paragraph form
• remember: no accomplishments are too small (include the fact that you made the bed or swept the entryway, if these are challenging tasks for you)
• don’t feel compelled to list a certain amount of daily accomplishments– this is your space to state positive achievements, whatever the number
• this log can be much like a gratitude journal where you give thanks for what is possible

This will be your log, so make it as personal and as uplifting as you like. Pat yourself on the back for making dinner one day, or for enduring a long day at the office. Whatever you do, it is important to YOU and it COUNTS. Over time you can look back and see all of the positive things you’ve achieved on a day-to-day basis and this will help you in challenging times to remember how absolutely vital you are and how far you go, in spite of MS.

Good luck!

Here goes:

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Be healthy and happy!…

Jen

I’ve been swamped with school work as of late, but before I jumped into the fray, I had a chance to do a little summer reading and the book 29 Gifts felt much like a gift given to me by a good friend (it was actually suggested to me by an acquaintance with a great deal of insight about the values of selfless giving: I had learned about this book through another MS patient whom I’d recently met at the Nat’l Multiple Sclerosis Society’s annual walk.) So in a respect, I was given this book as a gift to open my mind and find a new way of focusing on others and giving freely of both time and assets.

The book’s author, Cami Walker, recaps her ventures of giving away 29 things during 29 days. As a recently-diagnosed MS patient, she is trying to find her way back to a stable and productive life, something that can be very difficult for those with multiple sclerosis. One of the most satisfying aspects of the read is the author’s positive change over the course of the month of giving: she goes from struggling with the effects of a bad relapse to rallying and making not only physical gains, but emotional strides. Walker learns the benefits of selfless giving not only for the recipients, but also for herself. In the process she decides to create a website to share her new-found knowledge: www.29gifts.org. People are encouraged to try the 29 day challenge of selfless giving and to write about their experiences on the website.

*I’m finding myself considering the challenge as well. : )

I found the following USA Today news story on Facebook this morning. I didn’t realize the famed author of the Harry Potter series had a mother who was affected by multiple sclerosis. Apparently J.K. Rowling’s own mother died from complications related to MS when Rowling was young, and it has shaped the writer’s own understanding of illness, loss, and helping others. Having been catapulted to fame and fortune with her novels, Rowling has recently donated a large sum, $15.4 million, to the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) to create a research center for multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative illnesses.

On Friday the 13th, let’s discuss what to do when really bad weather strikes. Are you prepared for a flood, hurricane, or heat wave? Can you manage if no one can get to you for several days? Let’s discuss ideas for being ready for the unpredictability of our situations when the weather gets nasty.

I’ll share information from a Delaware Emergency Preparedness Forum that I’m attending Thursday. This will be hosted by the University of Delaware’s Center for Disabilities Studies and is part of Delaware’s Workgroup on Emergency Preparedness for Individuals with Non-Typical Functional Needs.

If you are uncomfortable typing, you are still welcome to come and watch the conversation. Chat is open to everyone and you don’t have to be from the Delaware area to attend. To join, visit A Short in the Cord and click on the coffee cup or “Enter My Chat Room” in the upper right of the page.

Dalai Lama: “Spiritual practice involves, on the one hand, acting out of concern for others’ well-being. On the other, it entails transforming ourselves so that we become more readily disposed to do so.”

Just thought this was so eloquent and true. I love the Dalai Lama’s ideology, quiet intelligence, and life force. I’m not a follower of organized Western religion (early Catholicism beat it out of me), but I definitely consider myself spiritual. I think this hits the nail right on the head and I appreciate the Eastern religions’ values placed upon the population as a whole— worship is not just viewed as a vehicle for individuals’ wants, needs, desires, and ultimate redemptions. Selfless and what I imagine true spirituality to be.