perception | Bleu Is Electric

**“Whether you think you can or you can’t you are right.” -Henry Ford.**

Perhaps when you wake up from a coma, not only are you seeing the world with new eyes but the world is seeing you with new eyes as well. After a traumatic brain injury, once the fog of confusion lifts, you eventually realize there is no use in looking back only forward. Because, you are no longer who you used to be, so rather than chase the same dreams ,you invent new ones. In many ways reality becomes “**unreality**,” as you keep hoping it’s all just a bad dream that you’ll wake from. The problem arises when it becomes apparent, that in fact this is your reality. Daydreams, imagination, and fleeting entertainment become your modes of escape. However, when those things end you have to drop back into waking life and take action. Just make sure you’re moving in the right direction, and not just treading water spinning memories of what you believe your life was supposed to be like at this point in time. Sometimes, in fact, most of the time. Our life story is not linear. Indeed, after the stroke occurred mine became somewhat circular. I had to relearn walking, talking, eating, and I’ve fallen short in my attempts like a toddler often does. But you know what? Now rather then such things being a setback it’s more of an annoyance! It’s annoying being reminded that there’s still so much work to do. Not only on myself but in seemingly every arena outside of myself as well. At times it’s like putting back together a shattered mirror. You just need to get everything to fit correctly, so you can see yourself again. Until that point there are small pieces of you everywhere that are incomplete. So, all you can do is carefully collect each piece, inspect it, repair the damage, and then place it back into it’s correct position. In stroke recovery and traumatic brain injury recovery this takes years. However, no day spent on self improvement is wasted. A day becomes wasted if we give up on trying to move forward. Therefore, never let your spirit become idle my friends.

Stir things up!

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“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” – Viktor Frankl, holocaust survivor.

The most important choice you make every day is your attitude. Your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. Joy is mind over matter. How we feel isn’t determined circumstantial. It is perceptual. Our feelings are determined by our subjective focus. How you feel is the result of what you focus on. The same adversity can affect two people very differently. I often wonder how someone else would do in my circumstances, but I have hardly anyone to compare myself to. However, I’ve surmised that what poisons one person to death, sweetens the other person’s spirit. This would explain how someone could manage to survive an atrocity like the Holocaust. When I experienced my own holocaust in the form of a massive stroke, I had to choose. Either let it be a catalyst that began my downward spiral or fight. As it turned out, although I felt hopeless the latter was much more appealing than the former. Although I had plenty of very patient therapists and encouragement, ultimately I was the only one that could do what needed to be done to improve myself. The same goes for many different things in life, it is you that has the power to choose and get better. Therefore, I would encourage you to do what is needed to move forward, no matter how hard. Because, as I have seen some significant physical improvements, it’s well worth it!

to you and yours,

bleu

Posts Tagged ‘perception’

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