We're All Just Doing the Best that We Can
So many people use up every ounce of energy they have every single day just to make it through another day and do all the things those of us privileged with healthy bodies and minds do without thinking. Don't make the mistake of thinking your healthy body and mind are because you have done anything better than someone else.
If you have a healthy body and mind and lots of energy, 90% of that is luck and good genes (despite what we like to think). Don't consider yourself better than anyone else. Consider yourself lucky, blessed. Understand that many people who survive another day do so with an exceeding amount of strength and courage.
I have lived through seasons of vibrant health and seasons of struggles with my body and mind. I have had fierce battles with despression, anxiety and chronic fatigue. No one looking at me would have any idea of the battles I was fighting inside. I have felt judged by strangers, close friends and even family during these fighting seasons. Seasons where I just couldn't find the energy or will to care about the unfolded laundry on the floor, the spilled milk in the refrigerator or the soccer snack sign up sheet. Seasons where, as much as I value a friendship, I haven't had the energy to reach out and connect.
My stroke survivor husband is now in his own fighting season. People see the outside battle- the struggle to walk, the arm held limply by his side- but they don't see his inner battle. After a stroke, brain injury or neurological disease, most people suffer from terrible neuro fatigue. The littlest things- taking a shower, riding in the car, going out to dinner- can completely wipe them out. And even with my own past battle experience, I often have to remind myself, when my husband spends the day in his chair watching TV or on the computer and neglects doing his exercises, that he is doing the best he can. Most days he wins the battle against his body and works hard towards his recovery. But some days, the battle is particularly fierce and he just needs rest. I only hope that I can always recognize those days and give him encouragement and allow him the rest he needs for the battle he must fight the next day and the next and the next.
Be patient and kind with everyone- you can never know what battles they are fighting in their own bodies and minds- they may be battle weary with no more left to give.
If you have a healthy body and mind and lots of energy, 90% of that is luck and good genes (despite what we like to think). Don't consider yourself better than anyone else. Consider yourself lucky, blessed. Understand that many people who survive another day do so with an exceeding amount of strength and courage.
I have lived through seasons of vibrant health and seasons of struggles with my body and mind. I have had fierce battles with despression, anxiety and chronic fatigue. No one looking at me would have any idea of the battles I was fighting inside. I have felt judged by strangers, close friends and even family during these fighting seasons. Seasons where I just couldn't find the energy or will to care about the unfolded laundry on the floor, the spilled milk in the refrigerator or the soccer snack sign up sheet. Seasons where, as much as I value a friendship, I haven't had the energy to reach out and connect.
My stroke survivor husband is now in his own fighting season. People see the outside battle- the struggle to walk, the arm held limply by his side- but they don't see his inner battle. After a stroke, brain injury or neurological disease, most people suffer from terrible neuro fatigue. The littlest things- taking a shower, riding in the car, going out to dinner- can completely wipe them out. And even with my own past battle experience, I often have to remind myself, when my husband spends the day in his chair watching TV or on the computer and neglects doing his exercises, that he is doing the best he can. Most days he wins the battle against his body and works hard towards his recovery. But some days, the battle is particularly fierce and he just needs rest. I only hope that I can always recognize those days and give him encouragement and allow him the rest he needs for the battle he must fight the next day and the next and the next.
Be patient and kind with everyone- you can never know what battles they are fighting in their own bodies and minds- they may be battle weary with no more left to give.
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