This is the season of joy not because there will be something that I have always wanted under the tree as if I were an anxious pre-teen expecting his or her first cell phone. There is some speculation as to whether even I made the good list; eating so much ice cream may have put me back on the bubble. It will be a season of joy because this year I have been able to recognize that I have been blessed in so many unimaginable ways.
The word thankful doesn’t adequately express my gratefulness to the One who can heal. I am looking for a word that conjurors up the notion that there is something beyond thankful. I have been blessed this past year in many ways, some of which I already shared with you. But wait, there’s more!
More than a great line from a favorite movie, it’s a mindset to make today matter. One translation put it “seize the day; put very little trust in tomorrow.” Carpe Diem. Seize the day! But to what end? Fame and fortune? For purpose? For legacy? For pleasure? A tall order with broad implications; Carpe Diem!
I find that early in the morning is the best time of day to wrestle with the big questions. I have drawn a line in the sand; anything before 4:00 am is still nighttime but after 4:00 am is the morning. Regardless of which side of the line I’m on, most every morning I find myself where I prefer not to be; on the couch with my mind racing. Still, in a very strange way, it has become one of my favorite times of the day.
This November will be five years, five years since I was told by my doctor that I had Parkinson’s Disease. I don’t recall the exact date, probably because for me, it’s really not that important. After all, I don’t plan on hosting a kegger to celebrate but I do think that it is important to pause and reflect on how it has impacted me and those nearest to me.
Nearly 4200 in attendance from over 60 countries coming from as far away as South Africa, Australia, and Japan, everyone at the Forth World Parkinson’s Congress held in Portland Oregon was bound by a common thread. These statistics certainly are impressive but this one image, a photo by Anders M. Leines entitled This is Parkinson’s, captured the essence of the entire event. Mr. Anders M. Leines, who also suffers from PD, challenged the misconception that PD is predominantly an old person’s disease. It is simply not true.