Congratulations — you are 20 days into the November 30-day Challenge 2025 to do the scaled-down version of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®.
Click here for the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®.
Click here for the 2025 30-day challenge.
Thanksgiving Holiday
On Thursday next week, here in the States, we are having our Thanksgiving celebration. Gratitude was a big part of my recovery, and so was compassion. Today, we explore this compassion.
For many, Thanksgiving will be a time for seeing relatives and friends. Also, a big part of making this Thanksgiving holiday wonderful and memorable, is the addition of one ingredient that you do not eat…compassion…for others and for yourself.
Compassion for others
Prior to my recovery from Parkinson’s disease, the only other person I had met who had Parkinson’s was my mother. She was one of the most compassionate people you ever would have had the pleasure of knowing…compassionate to others…not herself.
Over the last fifteen and a half years, I have met with or spoken to online an enormous amount of people with Parkinson’s from around the world. Additionally, you are some of the most compassionate people I have met…compassionate to others…not yourselves. I was the same way. However, part of this recovery is learning to be compassionate to yourself.
You tend to put additional pressure on yourself to be better at everything than anybody else. Moreover, it is that drive for the unattainable perfection that helped you bring the Parkinson’s symptoms to the surface in the first place. You are doing your absolute best, but you still feel it is not good enough.
On the other hand, you are accepting and compassionate to those around you who are doing their best and not being perfect. Also, something in the mind says, “It is okay for them to be less than perfect because I am going to be perfect enough for all of us.”
As a result of the expectation that you have to be perfect, you never stop thinking and over-thinking. The Adrenaline-mode mind does not stop. Moreover, this is the formula that assists in getting Parkinson’s.
Compassion for yourself
How do you reverse this situation? Begin by being compassionate to yourself. Here is how to begin the process of being kind to yourself:
Say to yourself, “I am not perfect and I do not have to be perfect. Also, when I am doing my best, my best IS good enough.”
This seems logical, but it is not easy to do after so many years of thinking differently. Many of you have told me, “I am doing my best, but I do not think it is good enough. It simply is not perfect.” Your best is your best; you cannot do any better than that. Be kind to yourself and accept that if you are doing your best, it is the best you can do, and it is good enough.
That is the formula to being compassionate to yourself.
Compassion in doing the Recipe
To be successful with the Recipe and with your recovery you need compassion for yourself.
Why? The Recipe is a soul, mind, and body recovery. If you do the body part (Qigong) and at the end, you say to yourself, “I did not do that Qigong perfectly or even good enough, so I probably will not recover,” then you have moved backwards. Whatever benefit you have gained for the body is great, but the mind is in negative, self-criticizing mode, and your soul is losing faith in recovery.
Be compassionate to yourself and turn this around:
At the conclusion of doing the Qigong, say to yourself, “In this moment of doing Qigong, I did the best possible Qigong that the Parkinson’s body would allow and I did great in moving forward with my recovery!” That attitude propels the mind with positive thinking, and it propels your soul with continuing faith and hope in your recovery.
There is nothing wrong with being compassionate to yourself. In fact, being compassionate to yourself will liberate you as you move forward on your path toward recovery.
Serving compassion for Thanksgiving
When others ask to assist you with preparing your Thanksgiving holiday, be compassionate to them, smile a big smile, and say “Yes, I would love your help.” By doing this, you allow them to feel good about being able to do something for you. Additionally, it is the compassionate thing to do for yourself.
Please feel compassion for yourself and graciously accept whatever assistance you are being offered. Do this in your life as well, not just for Thanksgiving. Moreover, the feelings you get inside when you do this are joy, your heart opening, and your Dopamine flowing. That is why it feels so good. Also, this helps move you toward your recovery.
Finally, please remember this critically important point: If you are doing the Recipe, then you are doing great! When somebody asks you, “How are you doing?” please do not run down a mental evaluation of the symptoms that day to determine how to answer the question and then give them a rundown of how badly the symptoms are that day.
You are not the symptoms. This probably needs repeating: YOU ARE NOT THE SYMPTOMS! You are your soul, your spirit, your essence. If you are doing the Recipe with faith and you are asked, “How are you doing?” you can put a huge smile on your face and say, “I am doing great!”
Find compassion for yourself, and make this your best Thanksgiving ever!!!
Make the commitment to cure yourself from Parkinson’s!
Please post a comment letting us know how you are doing finding compassion for yourself.
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
REMINDER NOTE: Eight years ago during 30-day challenge 2017, I released my book, “Fighting Parkinson’s…and Winning.” It was available in Paperback and Kindle eBook. This year, the Audiobook version was released. Click here for information about my book.
I am not my symptoms. I repeat, I am not my symptoms.
And I am perfectly imperfect, just the way that I am right now.
Thanks, Howard, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
“I am doing great!”
I am not perfect…I do not have to be PERFECT !!!
I’m doing the BEST I can.
I’m doing GREAT!!!
Blessed and grateful this Thanksgiving🙏
THANK YOU Howard!
I am perfect just as I am
I accept myself unconditionally
I am not symptoms and my symptoms are not me
You are a gift to the entire Parkinson’s community, those with, and their families, and caregivers. I hold you in high regard and wish you the happiest of holiday seasons. With gratitude for your love, compassion and fortitude. Love from us. Mike
Even if some days my mobility is better or worse than others, I am still recovering. My best is good enough. I am trying not to be upset and stressed if some days I have difficulty in getting up from my chair. On this journey every day is different. Acceptance is part of the cure and I am curing myself from Parkinson’s. I am grateful.
This one has my name on it! I was concerned with 2 exercises that I might not be doing correctly and then the mind wandered to how can I expect full recovery if I am not doing the exercises as Howard shows us. The mind can be a dangerous place to wander. Compassion for self needed here. I’m not perfect but I’m doing the best I can.
Happy Thanksgiving to all….we can do this together!
I am doing pretty gosh darn good with finding compassion for myself! It’s led me to a more true authentic peaceful self. I am grateful to this community and to you, Howard. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
And so it is…
I am doing great!! I am not the symptoms!!!!
I love you all deeply !!!
I say to myself when I am doing the exercises that it is not possible to do them perfectly in a Parkinson’s body, but nine people have cured themselves of PD so perfection isn’t needed. You just need to do your best and have faith and gratitude.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow warriors and thank you Howard for another thoughtful post.
I’m doing great!
Loving and accepting myself more every day.
Grateful for you, Howard, and for this community.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m back! I missed posting a comment last week because I had a ventral hernia surgery. A couple of months ago I found out I had a hernia and it was best to take care of it as soon as possible so I did. I’m a week into my recovery and feeling really good. I can almost do everything that I could before the surgery. My legs and abdomen are a little weak still, so I’m going slow and being really careful and of course this dovetails beautifully with being compassionate with myself. I’m taking a short break from the physical part of the recipe to allow myself a proper recovery. I’m focusing my attention on the emotional and spiritual side of things. I’m building on my meditation practice and I’m spending more time talking to God—giving thanks for all the amazing things I have in my life, like how well I’m doing.
Over the last couple of months, I had to extract a tooth from an old root canal. Then I had a bridge put in. Then the ultrasound to discover I had a hernia and then the surgery. Boy did things pile up and I became overwhelmed with non-PD things— added to PD and everything became more complicated. It certainly was/is challenging and compassion for myself became absolutely necessary along with the deep understanding that in everything I do, my best is good enough. I’m now on the other side of it all and feel great; I’m very proud of myself with how well I handled it all. Throughout the past couple of months, I kept saying I can do hard things and I trust the process of life, reminding myself to openly accept everything that was rolling out in front of me and of course everything I went through is bringing me closer to my recovery. I couldn’t have done it without loving myself, and without being compassionate to myself.
I also downloaded the Audible version of Howard’s book and have it on repeat this month. I usually read it every November and now I can listen to it. I always learn something new when I reread it and I find the overall process comforting. Stay well fellow PD warriors! You can do anything you come up against! #Temporary #Courageous #Overcomer
Howard, wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving. I thank you for all you do to keep us going.
‘Conquer by love’ — I remember this quote this morning when I was attempting my recipe practice.
I thought it has to do not only with normal opponents but other opponents like PD. Even when I’m very focused to start my recipe practice, I’ve noticed there’s always something that comes right up when I start. The phone starts ringing, I get a notification about something I forgot to do at work, the dog starts barking, the doorbell rings et cetera et cetera : )
Rather than get frustrated. I think this quote is a reminder to me to ‘conquer’ by love. Not get frustrated, not get angry, not fear, not conquer with an angry attitude, but with a loving attitude, a strong, flexible, gentle attitude. I guess it also applies in personal relationships, interactions with family and so on. Wishing you all Happy Thanksgiving, many thanks Howard and crew!
I am great and I am grateful! There is so much to be thankful for. I am ready to accept compassion from others, and to remember that my best is good enough.
Thank you Howard for this meaningful November challenge!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
I hope you will all be blessed with love and kindness.
Thank you, Howard for your compassion.
I am not perfect…I do not have to be Perfect!
I accept myself unconditionally!!
I am not symptoms and my symptoms are not me!!!
I am doing great, in fact I’m doing more than great, I am recovering!! So grateful for all the blessings in my life. Happy Thanksgiving Howard to you and your family.
When my mind turns to critics, doubts and fear, I do try to see myself as part of the Universe, forgetting time, age, plans, PD, ……me.
That is my way to find a compassionate attitude trusting that Universe does it the right way, finally.
Thanks to everybody in this Community, Great Support.
Symptoms just tell me I have more work to do.
I’m starting to feel that sweetness in me, that love for myself.
I am grateful to be learning how to access my heart and soul to guide my recovery. When getting up from the chair, it’s difficult to know how to move. I am practicing thankfulness in advance: “I’m getting up from the chair, thank you”, and guess what? I’m able to get up from the chair much more easily. I’m learning to trust that there is more going on that I can understand. I am my own recovery, and I am slowing, halting, and reversing the progress of the Parkinson’s.
I am so grateful to all of you for your inspiring and supportive comments ! My best is good enough, and I’m grateful to be able to make this post several days late!