Standing before the Naki Lake Palace
In
Rajasthan
Giving Toli at Sunset on Peace Rock
In
Rajasthan
Market outside National Park
In
Karnataka
In
Karnataka
The Answer
Hopelessness, sadness, unhappiness, disappointments or self-pity gnawing at you? Hanging out in a cheerless dispiriting atmosphere? Looking for an escape from worries, fears or problems?
Well, have I got an answer for you!
A 2004 assault where i was stabbed 10 times left this former marathon runner, ballroom dancer, cyclist, RN, firefighter, mountain climber, canoeist, and hiker paralyzed and in the company of new friends: Depression and Despair. I couldn’t move or scamper out of their way so they lurked heavy on my shoulders waiting to seize me. These conditions led me to The Answer.
Pain, lung collapse, double vision and paralysis seared and ripped through my limp body. I required support like a newborn. Phobias and nausea overpowered me, forcing moans and groans. I didn’t want to complain, but I couldn’t help it. Sometimes my face frowned; I tried to smile. Another whimper squirmed out of my mouth.
There was no comfort. No position, no matter where they put me relieved the pain.
Day after day I laid in bed staring out the window, hypnotized watching the spruce tree and the sky sway in the arctic cold breezes. The scenery became my companion.
I refused to take the hands of depression and despair. If I could survive being stabbed 10 times, I was determined to find benefit in this new life. I felt inspired to write gratitude lists. At first, I found it difficult to find things to be grateful for. But each day, I recorded a list of things I appreciated.
Giving thanks in all things and keeping a daily gratitude list literally saved my life.
Month after month I wrote. Then, less than five months, at the bottom of a long gratitude list, I wrote, “Oh Father, I am so thankful for what happened to me. I’m so thankful I was given another opportunity to live, another chance to clean all the dust and cobwebs out of my life so that when I do go, I will go where I want to go.”
Once I had gratitude for my situation, a pivotal change occurred in me. I became content for my new life.
The Answer? Keep a gratitude list everyday. Depression, fears, worries and despair will dissolve into contentment, the greatest treasure we can hold.
Well, have I got an answer for you!
A 2004 assault where i was stabbed 10 times left this former marathon runner, ballroom dancer, cyclist, RN, firefighter, mountain climber, canoeist, and hiker paralyzed and in the company of new friends: Depression and Despair. I couldn’t move or scamper out of their way so they lurked heavy on my shoulders waiting to seize me. These conditions led me to The Answer.
Pain, lung collapse, double vision and paralysis seared and ripped through my limp body. I required support like a newborn. Phobias and nausea overpowered me, forcing moans and groans. I didn’t want to complain, but I couldn’t help it. Sometimes my face frowned; I tried to smile. Another whimper squirmed out of my mouth.
There was no comfort. No position, no matter where they put me relieved the pain.
Day after day I laid in bed staring out the window, hypnotized watching the spruce tree and the sky sway in the arctic cold breezes. The scenery became my companion.
I refused to take the hands of depression and despair. If I could survive being stabbed 10 times, I was determined to find benefit in this new life. I felt inspired to write gratitude lists. At first, I found it difficult to find things to be grateful for. But each day, I recorded a list of things I appreciated.
Giving thanks in all things and keeping a daily gratitude list literally saved my life.
Month after month I wrote. Then, less than five months, at the bottom of a long gratitude list, I wrote, “Oh Father, I am so thankful for what happened to me. I’m so thankful I was given another opportunity to live, another chance to clean all the dust and cobwebs out of my life so that when I do go, I will go where I want to go.”
Once I had gratitude for my situation, a pivotal change occurred in me. I became content for my new life.
The Answer? Keep a gratitude list everyday. Depression, fears, worries and despair will dissolve into contentment, the greatest treasure we can hold.
I Did A Hike
I’d been invited to walk the “I Did A Hike” fundraiser put on by the North Florida Trail Blazers Chapter. Hearing about the geographical treasures I’d be seeing: Big Shoals Rapids, Robinson Branch Falls, Bell Springs, Waldron’s Landing’s Walking Man Bridge and Little Shoals sparked my interest.
Born and raised in Florida, I’ve always been dazzled by the mystique and beauty of the Suwannee River, but I’d never seen rapids or water falls, Bell Springs or foot bridges along the river. The idea of spending the day hiking along the picturesque Suwannee River enchanted me.
But how? I have a spinal cord injury. From being paralyzed, unable to hold my head up or to move my left side, I’ve re-learned to walk, but not like I used to and seven miles is a huge distance for me. I wondered if I could possibly even do it...
Hour later...
At a snails pace, I walked across the finish line. Janie and the others hooped and hollered, “You did it Deborah! You did it! Congratulations!” They immediately provided me with a chair and a drink of water. "You just hiked 8.4 miles! Three GPS’s taken on the trail measured the distance at 8.4 miles.”
I couldn’t believe it. I sat there in awe, in sheer glory…incredible!
In Alaska there’s a song called, “I did, I did, I did the Iditarod Trail.” Here I can say, “I did, I did, I did the I-did-a-Hike-Trail!”
105 hikers completed the hike that day, raising $1,500.00 for the Florida Trail Association. Hope ya’ll will join us next year so you can say; “I did the I Did a Hike Trail.”
For information contact randy-at-inkyfingers.biz.
The full text of this story appears in The Florida Trail Footprint, Fall 2009 issue.
Born and raised in Florida, I’ve always been dazzled by the mystique and beauty of the Suwannee River, but I’d never seen rapids or water falls, Bell Springs or foot bridges along the river. The idea of spending the day hiking along the picturesque Suwannee River enchanted me.
But how? I have a spinal cord injury. From being paralyzed, unable to hold my head up or to move my left side, I’ve re-learned to walk, but not like I used to and seven miles is a huge distance for me. I wondered if I could possibly even do it...
Hour later...
At a snails pace, I walked across the finish line. Janie and the others hooped and hollered, “You did it Deborah! You did it! Congratulations!” They immediately provided me with a chair and a drink of water. "You just hiked 8.4 miles! Three GPS’s taken on the trail measured the distance at 8.4 miles.”
I couldn’t believe it. I sat there in awe, in sheer glory…incredible!
In Alaska there’s a song called, “I did, I did, I did the Iditarod Trail.” Here I can say, “I did, I did, I did the I-did-a-Hike-Trail!”
105 hikers completed the hike that day, raising $1,500.00 for the Florida Trail Association. Hope ya’ll will join us next year so you can say; “I did the I Did a Hike Trail.”
For information contact randy-at-inkyfingers.biz.
The full text of this story appears in The Florida Trail Footprint, Fall 2009 issue.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)