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. Action is success, in and of itself.
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 sat next to my computer screen for years said, “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.
Control your efforts. Grab onto the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® and take action in your recovery. The success is in the doing.
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
Hi Howard,
Thanks for getting right down to the “nitty- gritty”. It seems to me that if I am talking the talk, I’d better be trying to walk the walk. I have the power to heal myself. Now I must put into action my best efforts. I will not let my imperfections or situations discourage me, but I will be excited for another day to do my best. Now if only I can use this excitement to fuel and ignite my actions to success. I know my best is good enough.
I am so grateful to Howard for giving me a plan to put into action. I am so grateful to each of you who share yourselves with me on this blog. You are amazing. It helps!
I am grateful to have this safe place to come, to recommit. I will recommit to showing by my actions just what I believe …… until it comes to pass.
Sending good wishes and success to all,
Debbie
So true Howard!! Thanks for the reminder!
Hi Howard, soooooo there is a bit of a Robin Hood in you with your bow and arrow lol. It’s quite appropriate really, you are robbing Parkinson’s of its power by giving us powerful arrows of faith, hope, and action. 🙂 . I like that image. Lol.
I watched a movie last night that was powerful in its teaching of God always being close and giving us strength to keep going. It was called “The Life of Pi”. It made me cry as well as give me Joy. Feel very peaceful too today.
Big love to you Robin Hood and all your many merry warriors around the world.
Karen xx
Great way of looking at it Karen!! And now I must go and find my arrows. lol
When we are finished with the arrows, can we play hopscotch Debbie 🙂 lol. Big love friend. xx
Dear Howard,
A very thoughtful and successful comment, thank you so much! It seems easy by reading it, but by giving it a try we experience that every day we need a good will! Step by step, small ones but repeatedly the same, needs patient but gives us faith to win!
THANKS🌺
What helps keep me on track are from Howard.
You have the power to heal yourself you have the power within you.
Your best is good enough. As long as you are doing recipe the best
that you can, remember it is the full recipe, body soul and mind,
then your best has to be good enough. No matter how pitiful I
may appear I am still making progress.
Welcome back Debbie and you can’t help but just love Karen with
her precious contributions.
Love the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Thanks Ken. I love your thoughts 🙂 especially .. No matter how pitiful I may appear I am still making progress.
Awwwww Ken thank you! I have not been called precious in a long time 🙂 lol
I like your line that Debbie quoted, very real. Big love my friend xx
Thanks, Howard! This is an exceptionally good reminder and encouragement.
For me, everything is not yet fully (100%) engrained. Even though I continue to remind myself, I notice that keeping my thoughts peaceful, my soul at one with our Great Supreme Creator God, eating healthier, drinking more water than I did, and the deeper breathing …it is very slowly becoming more automatic. Dodging naysayers is becoming easier because they don’t need a prominent place in my life. I found that I had too many toxic leeches in my life. Removing the influence of such brings greater peace and increased pleasure into my life. I notice that life’s leeches come in many forms and I thank God for opening my eyes and helping me with awareness so that I can fix it.
Howard’s writings and this caring group is a huge assistance. I agree with Debbie that this is a safe place. Thanks for the words of encouragement, Karen in Ireland!
All of God’s blessings be upon everyone!
Karen xx
I believe it takes courage to stay the course when all around us is skepticism. It is easy to get upset when others do not understand, but it doesn’t matter if no one understands because our healing doesn’t depend on what others believe. So each morning I have a purpose for getting up and it all depends on my belief, no one else’s. Thank you Howard for your wisdom. Love to all.
Veronica 🌱🌺
I love this comment Veronica! “Our healing doesn’t depend on what others believe”. So good!
For who can take better care of You, than You! Be kind to yourself and remember You have a journey to take while on earth and are responsible for your well being! Take care of yourself, You are worth it! And, have fun while on the journey, dance, sing, hum and whistle to recovery! Karol