And Many Times Looking Cross-eyed

Michael J. Fox, in his book, Always Looking Up, writes this regarding Parkinson's Disease:  "You suffer the blow, but capitalize on the opportunity left upon its wake."

For me, the opportunities "left upon the wake" of Michael's diagnosis are numerous and profound.


And still, I often have no clue about any of this.


A short list of the opportunities I have noticed:

• The flexibility to be able to fix one kind of food for a period of time, only to have to give it away or eat it all myself because NOW this kind of food is what is required.  Then, in a couple of days (if we're lucky) to throw that food out, because it isn't working so well. (An opportunity to open a soup kitchen where I can serve the food that, yesterday, we thought was ours?)

Some days, garden carrots with penises are okay.  Some days, they're not. 
(I can understand that.)  

• To face in real time - not just as a hypothetical idea - that there are few things that we truly "know" in life.  (Definitely NOT a good time to consider a career as a politician.)

• Realizing that it's not just Michael who needs a support team.  I do, too.  (An opportunity to let go of my hermit-like ways.  Damn it.)

I don't even know how to write about many of the changes that MCL is leaving in its wake.  MCL feels like a roto-rooter, cleaning out all of the methods I've historically used to function in the world.  Now, it's about just placing one foot in front of the other. It doesn't feel like there is always ground to receive that step, but there seems to be something kind and compassionate, huge and spacious that let's me know it's okay to let go into this free fall.