Fighting Parkinson’s, and hope, faith and action

I will be the first one to acknowledge that fighting Parkinson’s requires a lot of hope and a lot of faith. However, I also will be the first one to tell you that no matter how much hope and faith you have in your recovery, hope and faith without action are meaningless in Parkinson’s recovery.

Think about this:
1. If you hope to pass a test in a subject where you have no previous knowledge and you have faith in yourself, but you never study and learn the material, what is your chance of success?
2. If you stand at the Par 3 tee and hope for a hole-in-one and have faith in your ability to make a hole-in-one, but you do not swing the club, what is your chance of success?
3. If you hope for a bullseye and have faith in your ability to make a bullseye, but you do not take the arrow out of the quiver, place it in the bow, pull it back, aim and let go, what is your chance of success?

You need action to bring your hope and faith to fruition.

Think about this:
1. If you hope to pass a test in a subject where you have no previous knowledge and you have faith in yourself, and you study for 5 minutes, what is your chance of success?
2. If you stand at the Par 3 tee and hope for a hole-in-one and have faith in your ability to make a hole-in-one, and it is the first time you have hit a golf ball, and you hit only 1 ball, what is your chance of success?
3. If you hope for a bullseye and have faith in your ability to make a bullseye, and you take the arrow out of the quiver, place it in the bow, pull it back, aim and let go 1 time, what is your chance of success?

You need action to bring your hope and faith to fruition.

Think about this:
1. If you hope to pass a test in a subject where you have no previous knowledge and you have faith in yourself, and you study every day for one hour for a few months leading up to the test, what is your chance of success?
2. If you stand at the Par 3 tee and hope for a hole-in-one and have faith in your ability to make a hole-in-one, and you have taken golf lessons and hit an hour’s worth of balls from that tee to that hole every day for a few months, what is your chance of success?
3. If you hope for a bullseye and have faith in your ability to make a bullseye, and you take the arrow out of the quiver, place it in the bow, pull it back, aim and let go after practicing an hour a day for a few months, what is your chance of success?

You need action to bring your hope and faith to fruition…continuing, repetitive action.

As Shunryu Suzuki says in Not Always So, a bullseye is the result of 99 misses. Hope and faith are the things that get you coming back day after day after day and doing the same thing, which increases your hope and faith that you will be successful, which increases the vigor with which you perform your actions. The saying from Dan Millman that sits next to my computer screen says, “We can control efforts, not outcomes.” I agree with this. However, I have found that although I may not be able to “control” the outcome, the more I stay focused on positive efforts and the more I repeat them them with the hope and the faith of a desired outcome, the more likely I am to be successful with the desired outcome.

I knew I would recover from Parkinson’s and every day I controlled my efforts. I had hope and I had faith, and they were the fuel that ignited my undying action and my passion to succeed.

Repeat this phrase, “I have the power to heal myself.” Okay! Now, put it into action with your best efforts. Believe in yourself and your recovery.

All my best,

Howard