Keep Climbing
What inspires you to keep climbing?
I walk because I can. I walk because there have been times I could not. There are times when typing, writing my name, and dressing myself are beyond my grasp. I live with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), to whom I refer lovingly as more of a body guest than a house guest whose departure date she has not yet revealed. She decorated her living quarters inside my body with a stylishly modern abstract pattern of lesions on my brain and spine. Trust me, I’m very interested in redecorating!
She has been a powerfully transformative teacher, growing my compassion, patience, and humor. She has taught me to pay attention for synchronicity. Por ejemplo, MS is notorious for wreaking havoc with your bowels and bladder. I like to say, “I may be full of shit, but not for long!” As obnoxious as this gift has been, it has also transformed my compassion for individuals who have no access to bathrooms. If I ran the show, restrooms would be unlocked and available to all! Thank you San Francisco Public Library for welcoming me when I had been turned away from every other place I tried in your vicinity. I like to pay rent to any place that shares their restroom with gracious humanity. Browsing through their Friends of the Library bookstore, I picked up a copy of Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead, the story of Frank Meeink. That book turned me on to Restorative Justice which led to a research collaboration with Partners in Restorative Initiatives in Rochester, New York. While she and I do not always get along and I am looking forward to seeing her in my metaphorical rear view mirror rather than vying for the driver’s seat, I am grateful for the wisdom my MS body guest has helped me learn.
Who are your life guests who may have overstayed their welcome but from whom you have gleaned important life lessons? What have you learned, and how has that transformed your life — even when those life guests still reside with you? How are you impacting the world with your wisdom? What inspires you to keep climbing?
Follow up: I wrote this essay in June 2014. I have been in a wheelchair since 2018. Stay tuned for more updates on that development. I hope to fully to return to walking one day. Keep climbing!