I used to think that death was a bad thing.

Then I died. 

And I saw that death is just a transition that I chose not to take. 

 

I used to think that pain was a bad thing.

Then I came back to life with a beaten and battered brain and body. 

And my existence was painful af! Can you relate?

 

At the time, I was unable to eat, walk, or talk, my left hand was completely flexed inward, and I was breathing and receiving nutrition through tubes. 

Before the accident, most of my free time was spent writing and playing music. 

Now I couldn’t talk, let alone sing… and I couldn’t wrap my fingers around a guitar, let alone play. 

I remember looking at my unusable left hand, and thinking to myself that my life was over… wishing that I hadn’t woken up to suffer this existence.

This feeling of pain and loss overwhelmed me.

 

Then I looked around and saw my family and my friends and I began to think about the malleability of my perspective.

I began to look at my state as temporary… as part of the adventure… and Adventures in Brain Injury was born. 

 

What if struggling were optional… a choice?

What if the struggle was not in the experience of going through something difficult, but in the story I told myself about it… the drama that I attached to the experience. 

Salmon that have to swim upstream are not struggling… 

Trees that are growing in harsh environments are not struggling… 

Bacteria that are exposed to antibiotics are not struggling. 

They do not tell themselves stories about their struggle to give it a deeper meaning… that is what humans do.

We humans yearn to feel and to feel deeply.

 

To feel more intensely, we humans tell stories… beautiful stories… dramatic stories… poetic stories… painful stories.

In order for us to create feelings that are intensely good, the traditional story must precede with a narrative that brings us feelings which are intensely painful. 📖

Often it is the story that creates the struggle, the beauty, and the triumph.

The struggle is real because it is part of the story… The beauty is real because it is a part of the story… and the suffering is real because we make it real.

We get to co-author our stories! 

The experience is real, but the struggle is only as real as we make it.

We can choose to tell a story of struggle, or suffering, or pain; or we can tell a story of Adventure.

 

Wishing you a beautiful and adventurous week!

As always, stay empowered, my friends!