Three years ago today, I got my final wake up call, my body’s final notification to make me sit up and take notice that there was something dreadfully wrong with me…tremors. As I pointed out recently, for the previous 7 or 8 months, I had received polite, and not-so-polite, notifications that my physical body was falling into disrepair. I chose to ignore these. Tremors got my attention. I have discussed that the symptoms are not the problem, but instead, they are the messages that there is a problem, so we have to look behind them as to why we have them. This morning I realized that Parkinson’s is a symptom…a message that says, “your life is out of balance.”
Parkinson’s…the symptom reflecting a life out of balance. Physically, you are off balance. You move slowly and cautiously, often looking down instead of forward. What does that do? It puts your body in a posture that makes it virtually impossible to walk balanced. Your neck is bent, your spine is bent, the fluid in your semicircular canals is moved, and your visual frame of reference (important for balance) is your legs or the floor, and you acquire what is often referred to as a Parkinson’s gait. Mentally, you then become off balance because you are afraid of falling or freezing, and you are afraid of the future with Parkinson’s. This is right where Parkinson’s wants you…not living in the moment, but instead living in the past (getting Parkinson’s) and being fearful of the future (life with long-term Parkinson’s). Spiritually, you give up hope that you ever will get better. At that point Parkinson’s is winning.
Essentially, when you stare at your legs and feel unbalanced, you are looking at the past. When you feel unbalanced, you fear the future. How can you move forward in life in a balanced manner if you are staring backwards and it makes you fearful of where you are going? Faith.
Faith in yourself that you are the cure to Parkinson’s, and that you can see your recovery through to the end. Yes, that carries a lot of responsibility, but you have help. You have the Recipe for Recovery. The Recipe for Recovery is your road map to bring your soul, mind, and body back into balance.
Over time in my recovery, I came to see Parkinson’s as a grand opportunity to fix the things in my life that had gone out of balance. The Recipe provided me with the physical tools to re-balance my body, the mental tools to calm my mind and re-balance my emotions, and the spiritual tools to re-balance my soul and find again the essence of who I am.
Am I grateful for having had Parkinson’s? Yes. Through that bump in the road in a life already out of balance, Parkinson’s stood as a bump at a fork in the road leaving me two choices: 1. Fix the imbalances in my life and it would go away; and 2. Do not fix the imbalances in my life and it would stay with me forever. I chose the road less traveled, I had no plan B, and every day I did the Recipe for Recovery to find balance in my life. And every day that I awoke with Parkinson’s still there, it was a reminder I still had more work to do.
However, in the end, when I awoke on June 12, 2010 with no Parkinson’s, I knew it was not coming back — I had re-balanced my soul, mind, and body, and I no longer needed the message or symptoms known as Parkinson’s as a reminder that I had more work to do.
I was finished with that part of my life, and I am grateful for that as well.
You can do this, too. I know you can.
You are worth it!
All my best,
Howard
I thank you for your inspiration Howard. What you say makes sense. I believe this too so day by day I am being healed and growing thank god
I know that it is about body mind and spirit being healed and understanding and loving self. I have had 2 strokes as well as the parkinson’s and sometimes it all gets depressing, then I read a Howard blog or feel inspired naturally through life and connecting within to the breath of God and it all goes back into true perspective, that this is just another challenge to learn from and overcome. Follow the recipe for recovery and change will occur.
Thank you, Howard, again and again and again…your reminders ensure that the wellspring of life continues to flow….. my job is to ensure that I stay in the stream…..
Thank you Howard. You are such a great inspiration to us all! Your blogs are always so timely!!
Joe
I like the concept of Parkinson’s – the symptom of a life out of balance. Helps me know that it can be corrected. Knowing that someday I will be through with this part of my life (with Parkinson’s) is such a encouragement to dig down and continue with gusto, the roadmap to recovery (recipe).
Thank you for writing another helpful message! I marvel at how you help us chip the ice away, from every conceivable angle. The more we understand the nature of the “beast”, the better we can deal with it.
I am getting my life in balance, and exterminating the undesirable!
When I started to walk the recovery road, I thought of healing as getting rid of the symptoms. What a difference in my view of what real healing now is. Thank you Howard and everyone for the sharing, which is the most potent form of teaching
Has anyone else experienced a form of total immobility from the detoxing going on with liver?
Incredible strength and courage I read in all your voices, our voices. Yes Parkinson’s is actually an aid in getting to know our truth, does it realize this? It seeks our compassion , our forgiveness not only for itself but for the body encapsulated in it – it is transforming us into the beautiful butterflies we all are !
Oh wonder of it all. We are worth it!