My husband Ron is a volunteer for a
wonderful organization called Faith in Action, and I went with him to a gratitude
party for the volunteers. I was impressed
with what I learned about FIA. My
take-aways -
1) human - having invisible
disorders does mean that I feel frustration, disappointment, sadness along with
a host of other emotions... but the point really is how much, and how long -
EVERYONE feels these - we're human.
2) understanding & self advocacy
- becoming isolated can make you forget that there are many, many people with
all sorts of health struggles... this doesn't invalidate mine, but truly none
of us is alone... and while it's true that others may not understand MY issues,
perhaps *I* don't fully understand theirs.
So we need compassion, & to advocate for ourselves when necessary.
3) unknown - I'd like to think that
nothing bad will ever happen to me again, but the truth is I really don't
know. I can't protect myself from
everything. I can recognize that this
truth is uncomfortable, and know that I'll do the best I can to deal with
whatever comes up.
4) what's possible? A process - I ALSO really don't know what
good things will happen - how much I can still improve... sometimes I think I
do, but that's as impossible as knowing for SURE what's going to happen in my
life... this is a process, it takes time, and growing awareness is super
important.
