Living in the Moment

Even before I was diagnosed with Parkinson's, I think I was always one of those people who was worried about tomorrow. What is going to happen next?

Will things go according to plan? I needed everything to be in my control. Ha! The person that said we plan and God laughs was right. It seems that very little is in my control. God has a plan. Darned if I know what it is, but I know it is good. I heard a quote from writer and producer, Norman Lear recently. He said,

"We don't pay enough attention to the words over and next. When something is over, it's over and we are on to next. If there was a hammock between over and next, it would be living in the moment."

When you have a chronic illness, whether it be PD, or something else, it can be hard to live in the moment. Stories of what the future may hold can be scary and the unknown is downright frightening. I think the key here might be not worrying about the unknown. We don't know what the future will be. It just might be better than we ever imagined. How awful to spend our time imagining the worst when it may never come to be. One of my favorite singer/songwriters is Jason Mraz. In his song, Living in the Moment, he says,

"I will not waste my days

making up all kinds of ways

to worry about all of the things

that will not happen to me."

If you have never heard the whole song, it is definitely worth a listen. I'm going to try harder to not think about nextand try to take in all the nowthat I can. I know it won't be easy but challenges stretch us and make us grow. This moment, right now, is enough, and I am going to live in it the best I can.

Lyrics to Jason Mraz's Living in the Moment

Comments

Missing Tom

I recently lost a good friend. Never would I have imagined that I would become such good buddies with a man old enough to be my dad. I met Tom over seven years ago in a Rock Steady Boxing class. I entered class as a shy, teary-eyed, newly diagnosed mess who didn't like to sweat and had never boxed. Tom quickly took me under his wing, introduced me to the movers and shakers in the local Parkinson's community and eventually recognized a potential in me to further help the community. Within a year, with the encouragement of Tom and others, I became a certified Rock Steady coach. Tom and I would go to the same conferences and seek out the newly diagnosed. Ever the salesman, Tom would ask me if I "closed the deal," meaning, did I convince someone to come to an exercise class or attend a support group. Tom knew the benefits of attending these groups and he wanted everyone else to know also. He just wanted everyone to live the best life possible, even while living

Diagnosing with Compassion and Hope

My hackles are raised, my feathers are ruffled, my … I’m not sure I can find the words for how I am feeling. This morning, I read a recently published article called “ Delivering the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease-setting the stage with hope and compassion.” I am not upset that the article was written. I am glad that the authors have brought this to the attention of others. I am upset that it needed to be written. I just think it is common sense that when someone is given a life-changing diagnosis, it should be given with hope and compassion. The authors note that some say the moment of diagnosis is “almost akin to a traumatic event such as the loss of a loved one.” Of course it is! The person receiving the diagnosis is losing their future self. Everything they thought their life would be from that moment on has now drastically changed! I would count that as traumatic. I was one of these people over seven years ago who walked out of the Movement Disord

Out of My Mind...

If you have been living with Parkinson's for a while, you are likely living at the mercy of Parkinson's medications. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that medications are available. Without them, life would be miserable much of the time. But don't get me wrong (again), even with medication, you may feel like you are losing your mind. Early on, you take your meds on schedule, you can pretty much count on how long they will last and know what to avoid with them (protein maybe). As the years pass, and your symptoms progress, you would think you could either just, A. increase your meds or B. increase the frequency of your meds depending on what your doctor recommends. This seems logical to me. Sometimes this works, but eventually you end up with an E-ticket to the Dopacoaster. What is special about the Dopacoaster is that the tracks can change hour to hour. You took the ride yesterday and felt good. Life with PD was manageable. Today, you follow the same sche

Rock Steady Fighter

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