The Lessons We Learned From MS, COVID, and Each Other

Welcome back to An Empowered Spirit! I'm so happy you're here.

After taking a break from blogging for nine months I'm back and it feels wonderful being here with you.

The past two years have been so crazy that we all needed a break of one sort or another, don't you think? Sometimes it feels like we're living in a Robin Cook novel.

cat with big green eyes hiding under a blanket

Wake me when it's over!

One of the lessons we learned from the pandemic is how crucial it is to have a safe place to be nurtured and cared for when the world feels cold and out of control.

After I was diagnosed with MS many years ago, I searched for the best ways to cope with my new reality. It took a while, but I started finding answers to what I needed. When I created An Empowered Spirit, I wanted to share these insights with you on what helped me feel less lonely and afraid. The most important first step was finding the right...

Community.

There's magic and power in finding the right community, where people feel safe to tell their stories and share their feelings. The right community can offer unconditional support and comfort, and when you find that it feels damn good.

multiple sclerosis community

The power of community is the comfort and unconditional support you find with others

This year marks the tenth anniversary of An Empowered Spirit! A lot has changed in the MS landscape since 2011. What hasn't changed is my continued commitment to being a reliable source for you for all things MS!

To celebrate our anniversary we've updated An Empowered Spirit thanks to a generous grant from the HealtheVoices Impact Fund. I'm deeply grateful to HealtheVoices and Janssen for their continued support and generosity.

Multiple Sclerosis Blog Anniversary 2021

When I received the grant it was the nudge I needed. I'd been feeling burnt out from blogging, lost, and wondering what I should do next. HealtheVoices unknowingly pushed me into the "stop overthinking everything and just do it" mode.

So I'm getting off my tush to move in new and different directions for the next ten (+) years.

Like Michael Fox recently said about his journey with Parkinson's, it gets tiring to constantly make lemonade out of lemons. I quite agree. At this point in my life, I see a lot of things about life and MS differently, so I'll be focusing on topics with a fresh perspective. What will they be?

Wait and see!
MS
I'm busy planning new content to serve your needs, in creative. inspiring, and informative ways.

In return, I'd appreciate constructive suggestions or thoughts on what you're interested in hearing about. You can leave a comment below or reach out via the contact page.

What's new on An Empowered Spirit:

The new design of the blog reflects my love of every type of flower. They are beautiful and thrive despite adversity, just like the MS community.

Sixteen peony bushes are part of nature and this blog

My father planted sixteen peony bushes along our driveway. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.

“Like wildflowers, you must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.” – E.V. 

Cathy Chester - MS Advocate - New Blog Header

CLICK on the HOME, ABOUT, MS RESOURCES, PRESS, and CONTACT buttons located at the top of the page to find exactly what you need.

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." ~ Khalil Gibran

Disability and multiple sclerosis accessibility tool

NEW! An accessibility tool is located on the top left corner of every page to make pages more usable for you.

My mission continues to be to empower, inspire, and educate the multiple sclerosis and disability community, and their loved ones.

Now onto a special SURPRISE to start the celebration! Here's my first interview to christen the new blog. Drumroll, please...

After being interviewed twice by MS advocate, actor, voiceover artist, writer, and rapper Damian Washington I turned the tables on him. I chose Damian because he's smart, savvy, and very funny.

As Damian says, if you have to live with an incurable disease you may as well hang out with the cool kids.  He's definitely a cool kid.

Damian soared to the top of the advocacy game at warp speed and recently won TWO awards from WEGO Health: Hilarious Patient Leader and Best in Show: YouTube. Let me know what you think about our conversation.

 

With a party hat on and a grateful heart, thank you for helping us begin the next chapter of An Empowered Spirit in the best way possible: together. I've been enriched and inspired by your company and hope to see you return again and again.

END NOTE: Thanks again to HealtheVoices for your leadership program that supports the work of online health advocates. Your dedication and commitment to us are deeply appreciated.

 

Why Community Is Important In The Midst Of Sadness

Women of my generation were not always taught as young girls to be self-reliant but were instructed to do well in school, build a community of friends and marry well. We learned early on that boys were groomed for careers while girls were groomed to sew, cook and look nice.

community women

The tides slowly changed after the second wave of feminism. Popular culture reflected these changes with television shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Alice and One Day at a Time where the protagonists were self-reliant women, albeit arriving there under different circumstances. They were smart, savvy ladies.

Several years ago I recall chatting with other stay-at-home moms at a book club meeting. My decision to stay home to raise our son is one I’ll never regret. During our discussion one mom, an attorney with two children who worked part time, said something I’ll never forget. She attended law school because of her grandmother’s advice: Women should work to earn their own income, depositing part of their paycheck into a bank account of their own. No woman should be fully dependent on anyone.

As much as I wanted to be self-reliant my career choices were never breadwinners. Yet raising a child and all that the “job” entailed created a fifty-fifty proposition in our home. My husband and I always saw each other as providers on an equal playing field. That is part of what makes our marriage a strong one.

“Heroes didn't leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn't wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else's. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back.” ~ Jodi Picoult, Second Glance

I also believe in the value of community, a term that morphed from like-minded people living in the same community to people finding one another on social media.

If we were all completely self-reliant there wouldn’t be a need for community, and Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest would have never survived. We wouldn’t be interested in helping, supporting and lifting each other up. A great society needs to have a strong sense of community in order to survive.

Growing up I loved having a lot of friends. During teenage angst and changing hormones my heart would sometimes get broken. Yet I always picked myself up and moved on.

“When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person that walked in. That’s what the storm is all about.” ~Haruki Murakami

It’s in that heartache where important lessons are learned.

A true friend will laugh and cry with you. They’ll support you in your choices and tell you when you’re wrong. They’ll love you in your darkest and brightest moments.

And you will shine a light their way as well.  

In midlife the definition of community changes. The revised definition applies to the rules of blogging as well if we want our blogs to be well-received. We seek love, support, guidance, a friendly ear, a shoulder to cry on, an honest opinion and mutual respect.

In a week filled with sadness from the passing of two giants who left us too soon I thought a lot about being self-reliant and creating community. We can't be completely self-reliant because we all need to be part of a community, no matter what size, shape or form.

David Bowie and Alan Rickman relied on their great gifts to create the communities who mourn for them. They will forever remain in our hearts.

How are you building your community?

♥♥♥♥♥♥

There's still a few more days to vote for AN EMPOWERED SPIRIT as Best Health Blog of 2015. If you've enjoyed my work please cast your vote every 24 hours (using BOTH Facebook and Twitter) by clicking here. Thank you for your continued support and generosity.

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