Publishing early due to an MD appointment tomorrow. Robin Williams once said “You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” There is no doubt that the ending to his life was a sad one, battling depression and Lewy Body Disease, but the contributions from his life were quite colorful and memorable. His ability to use humor and what I call “upstream” behavior to make many people laugh, or even just take a moment from difficulty to smile, were truly a gift.
I saw the picture of mood swings, and sort of chuckled to myself, thinking about things that can cause my mood to swing on a given day. Of course, there is the elephant in the room (Parkinson’s), which can affect me in terrible ways physically and emotionally, and sometimes, even minute by minute. Also, like anyone else, I can get caught up in the bitterness, smallness, or insecurities of someone else, and I let that ruin my mood as well. I do often say that we control our own feelings, so I just remind myself at those times that it could be worse; I could be them. Finally, one huge game changer for swinging a mood is stepping in water when you are just wearing socks. That one will make you go right back to bed, just saying.
But honestly, when I feel things trying to pull me into a negative way, I resort to my old friend humor. Now I have to be honest, I have been told that I can be sort of silly. I have even been told that maybe I could act my age a little more, and even that I need to act a little more normal. Well, I have to tell that I tried being normal one time, but I found it to be extremely boring, so I just went back to being myself. As far as acting 50, I can’t really decide what that is supposed to be like, And silly? Well check these little jokes out:
Did you hear about the two guys who stole a calendar? They each got 6 months.
If you ever get cold, just stand in a corner. They are usually around 90 degrees.
Why can’t bicycles stand on their own? They are just two tired.
What is the best nation in the world? Donation, now give me 10 bucks.
Now you know you grinned at least once, and if you didn’t, then you may have a condition called masked expression that is associated with Parkinson’s because I know these jokes were stupid funny! The best part of it all is that if you were reading this and smiled or laughed, that is exactly what I wanted to happen. Mood swings, as the picture shows, affect all of us. Our emotions are a huge part of who we are, and who we are is often defined by the world that surrounds us, or the struggles we carry, or the actions we offer to others. We should always strive to define that for ourselves instead.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” If I live my life so that it is only about me, then that will be all that I have left at the end. Instead, I want to live my life in a way so that I do not have to introduce myself, where people know that they will be encouraged, that they will smile and laugh when they are around me, and that they will feel valued and cared about for who they are. I do not want to fit in the box that the world tells me that a 50 year old man should fit in. I want to turn that box into a mad race car and drive it all around the neighborhood. But do remember this, if you are with me, and we get caught, you are deaf and I don’t speak English. And try not to worry about the world ending today. It is already tomorrow in Australia! I will be taking next week off to enjoy the holidays with my family, so Happy Thanksgiving, and BE THANKFUL!!!!!
#noquit #justbe #bike2live #litwithin #move4PD #teamfox #parkinsons
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