HEROES.   Hi Guys,                                                                                                                                                       There are times when we can’t heal the body.  But we can still create an holistic        environment in our thinking and spirituality.  Think of the great heroes of the past who have risen above their physical handicaps: Helen Keller, deaf and blind, and unable to speak until the age of 40, who managed to inspire a whole generation of admirers.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who, from a wheelchair, brought a nation out of the worst economic depression ever experienced, and then, in later years, together with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, negotiated a peace treaty that would end World War II.  And one can find no greater hero than the incredible Stephen Hawking who, afflicted with ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, since childhood, confined to a wheelchair for life and not able to speak, challenged Einstein’s theory of relativity and wrote the international bestseller, A Brief History of Time, which spent more than four years on the London Sunday Times bestseller list - the longest run for any book in history!  Hawking is      currently Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, a post once held by Isaac Newton.  Now look around in our own lives.  Surely there are those who, despite      affliction and disease, still create an aura of affirmation that inspires.  Many is the time when, feeling despondent about my own aches, pains and afflictions, I go into the street and immediately see a person propelling themselves in a wheelchair; a person walking with only one leg and a crutch; another with a white stick; another speaking in sign language.  And as they go about their business, I am reminded how fortunate I am. It’s almost as if the scenario was planned to invoke such a response in me.  And perhaps it was.                                                                                                           In this journey through the decades of life, there will no doubt be times when our    bodies will suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune beyond our control.  But our state of mind is a choice.  We can choose to adapt a victim mentality and live in fear, anger and negativity, disenchanting both ourselves and those around us.  Or, as Hamlet so eloquently proclaims, ‘Take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end it.’  Now, of course he was, in his ‘To be or not to be soliloquy’, talking about     ending his life, not a consummation devoutly to be wished.  But why not interpret it conversely: to rise above our infirmity and, as much as we are physically capable,     enjoy the feast and contribute to this universe?                                                                                          Of course, when hit by a debilitating illness, cancer, stroke or the possible loss of a limb or capacity, we will experience sorrow and grief.  And yes, there are times when tears and grief are appropriate…even essential.  But when they are the tears of the hero    versus the tears of the victim, even tears and grief can give others hope, for there is a strength in being unafraid to cry when our soul needs such a balm.  Being able to     acknowledge fear and loss and the ability to share those feelings with friends and loved ones is what true humanity is all about, or should be.  ‘Always remember that how we live our lives is a personal decision, not something that is put upon us from the outside world.’ Quote Dr Susan Jeffers                                                                                     This is our challenge, this is our safety net.     This is our peace of mind.                                                                                                   With love from Steve.

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