A quote to Inspire...

Recently I read a quote by Michael J. Fox. As you know, he suffers from Parkinson's disease. The other day I came across something he had said that really resonated with me and I wanted to share it here. In speaking of his disease and the impact on his life he said:

"There are things that I can't do to the extent that I used to do or, in some cases, at all. But there are more things that I do that I didn't do before. We sometimes see subtractions when we're ill. They're not just subtractions. I'm not me minus anything; I'm me plus this experience. Whether it's good or bad is a subjective thing, but this has assuredly changed my path. And changed the way I look at things, changed the things I do..." He goes on to say, as encouragement for those trying to overcome challenges, "You still get to write the book (of your life). It's just going to have some chapters you might not have anticipated, but its still your story."

I appreciated this and felt I could relate to it!! I so often feel that my illness takes away from who I am and that I'm not the person I could be without my illness. That's why I like what he said about subtraction...and how he's not "Mike minus anything, he's Mike plus this experience(of having Parkinsons)".

I need to put my mindset in this way. I also appreciated what he said about still being able to write your story. My life story has had many chapters in it over the past few years that I never would have written...and yet I hope that I'll still be able to add many more chapters that are more uplifting and cheerful than the past few. Even though my story isn't what I planned to write, it still has a lot of beauty and value to it if I count my blessings and focus on the ways I've grown.