“Where there is no vision people will perish.” Proverbs 29:18

This year as I renew my strength and hope in God, I ponder on all the good and bad things that happened last year. Despite the losses and tribulations. I am grateful for all the lessons learned, new friends and adventures had along the way.
After a few months of down time following a string of doctors’ visits, myriad of new tests along with new lupus (SLE) diagnosis to compliment my Parkinson’s (which was beginning to feel lonely), it is time to start a new chapter in my life. As all the pages of the New Year remain blank, I think about developing a new vision that will provide me with endless stories, adventures, trials and triumphs that will comprise a new chapter. This process will be one more stepping stone in achieving a new dream. As I sit quietly contemplating of what my direction should be next waiting on God to lead the way I think about the importance of having a dream for all us especially for those of us who live with chronic illnesses in our lives.
The life lessons involved in making a dream or goal come true are the same lessons we must learn as patients.
When we develop a vision the same tests required to bring that dream into fruition are the same steps required to overcome living with a chronic illness. If you can find a dream and make it come true you can essentially do anything!
But first one must have a dream in order to make it come true.
Once my dream was to become a neurologist. Having achieved that dream has giving me the strength to keep fighting in the midst of many physical and emotional new obstacles. I discovered that a vision is what gives us direction, creativity and resilience.
Without it we run the risk of becoming passive, aimless, and vulnerable to giving up.
Thus, it is important for all of us to have a vision. Is not always clear what our goal should be what our next step should be or what direction to take. It took me a couple of years after my Parkinson’s diagnosis to find a clear new purpose in my life- keep advocating for my patients and all PD around the globe.
Before I could do this like now, I must first wait to have a new goal (vision). This requires patience, discipline and above all the ability to overcome challenges (for us this means often times overcoming physical and emotional limitations).
Is not easy to go after a vision.
I am sure there is something you worked hard to get. Remember the thrill of achievement and accomplishment? I believe you can do it again if you just set your mind to it.
Now as we stand on the horizon of a new unexplored chore, we need to be mindful of passing the following 4 tests that will help us overcome any obstacles this illness or any other curve life could throw our way.
1. Faith Test …we must be strong and believe in a better tomorrow even when everyone around us says there is no way you can make it. I am testament of being relentlessness …even when all the doctors prognosis have been grim I am still standing here by grace of God and still BELIEVE in a cure.
2. Patience Test …I have learned that in life like in science nothing happens overnight. We must learn to wait on God’s time not our own. Yet, having said this many great strides in neurology have been made in the right direction to making peoples life’s better.
3. Strength Test…Sometimes we may find ourselves discouraged alone frightened devoid of family and friends with no support group. We have all felt this way at one point or another. This is the time to remain strong in your convictions. Think about how much you have overcome and how far you have traveled. You can certainly do it again if you don’t give room to negative thought. My motto and yours should be-This too shall pass. I have been through many difficult times which I did not think I could or would survive. Surely, I cried but I did not die. Once the tears stopped the sun came out again and I learned to be happy once more. I have learned that even when one dream died there are many more inside of me and that my life has so many facets, it is much more than any one dream or any one illness I might have.
4. Focus Test…We can easily be derailed and deterred if we focus inward on us instead of outwards towards helping others. If we concentrate on helping others and keep moving forward even at a crawls pace we can climb a mountain. It all begins with a single positive thought- “I can & I will”