Just a thought.
Writing about my MS and Ashtanga Journey is my attempt to inform and possibly inspire.
Would you like to contribute a real life story on this site relating to either of these two topics. You can remain anonymous to the audience if you prefer. However I’d like to know who you are and I will protect your anonymity.
If you’re interested you can email me at:
david@my-ms-ashtangayogajourney.com
—————————————————
The glass is half full (a view into my warped mind).
Many years ago I was driving through Montana with three of my kids on the way to Yellowstone National Park. The vast landscape, big sky, and awesome sunsets romanticized to me what it would be like to be a cowboy. And I turned to my son in the front seat ( it just happened to be his turn) and said wouldn’t it be awesome to be a cowboy. He smiled and gave me a strange look – kinda like ya right Dad.
I’m fascinated by the strength it takes to be a cowboy – but I’m completely ignorant of what it takes to be that person.
Love the outfit – I could look good with the right boots, great fitting jeans, an awesome belt and buckle, a beautifully yoked shirt, and to polish it off, a cowboy hat. I have yet to find any hat that I look good in, except once, I looked awesome in a cowboy hat – really.
As a man with MS I admire that kind of strength and the allure of the cowboy. As I move along in this journey my thoughts are just that; I would just love to be strong – a strong human in a physical sense – it’s a very simple desire. I’d like to be able to give my granddaughter a piggyback up the stairs or carry her on my shoulders at the beach. I’d like to do lots of things but MS has taken that away.
But I still consider myself lucky in a sense that I can do many things that others can’t. I’m lucky in many many ways.
I was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS which is probably the “best” version to have (if there is such a thing) – there are much worse versions of MS which I can’t describe as I’ve not experienced them. There are also different experiences with relapsing remitting MS. I lay out my experiences on a monthly basis here and this is where I would like your help. At the beginning of this post I have asked for your stories about MS and or Yoga – you might find it as cathartic as I do.
When I started this blog to talk about MS and Yoga it was to inform people of the possibilities. It is intended to give just an average persons (me) view of both. I have had MS for over twenty years and I’ve been practicing Ashtanga for over seven. My experiences with both are the reasons for this blog and was intended to hopefully inspire you. But I’ve learned that it’s good for me also. I’m in no way a writer but I’ve found that just writing about it is kinda freeing, cathartic, enjoyable, and purposeful.
I sometimes think what I could have been if not for MS and it’s a thought process that defeats who I am today. We are all realizations of what we had to do to get here. And as I said earlier; I’ve had MS for over twenty years and all what shows is because of how I had to find my way.
“Well I’m standin’ on the corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine site to see
It’s a girl, my lord, in a flat-bed Ford
Slowin’ down to take a look at me”*
That whole stanza just roles off the tongue and the music immediately comes to mind. Can’t you just feel that. The atmosphere, the sun, the heat, the dust from the truck, she’s blond, she has blue eyes, her hair is in a ponytail, and she is wearing a baseball cap – I’ve got the outfit on – ahh to be a cowboy – my imagination runs away with me. I can be that person I can imagine it, I can feel it. It’s knowing who I am and being that person of optimum optimism.
To dream is a delight and a prison. The cowboy represents to me the green grass that’s on the other side. It will always be greener. Its just how my mind works and It’s kind of a joyous torture I put myself through to realize that….
I am ok, and I will continue to fertilize and water my side……
…….”so you’re telling me there’s a chance”**
- Take it Easy – The Eagles (written by Jackson Browne & Glenn Frey)
** Lloyd Christmas, Dumb and Dumber