Make Hope Your Bestfriend

 

In life, we have choices. You can sit back and play victim to your hardships, or you can embrace your challenges and make the best of them. I ask you, which do you choose? Being a martyr is easy but owning to our challenges is proof of your strength of character, your sense of determination, and your willingness to rise despite any hardships. If one judges you, they should re-shape that mindset to admiration.

With strength, we introduce our hope, and through hope, we have the determination to champion forward.

I could sit and lament my anger toward Parkinson’s, but that drains my hope. That steals the joy of my ability to rise. Like any obstacle we face or encounter, we can let it drain us, or we can grab that obstacle and rise…rise to our fullest possible self, coming out an even greater version than the one before.

What has my challenge with Parkinson’s awarded me? I am a better singer with the flexibility to change tempo, rhythm, and key, and can move seamlessly from song to song.  Singing has become my new way to communicate, and what better way to share a melody?

 Today, because of Parkinson’s, I can dance to jazz, tap, and ballet even better than my younger self. I use a walker and, at times, a wheelchair, but I do not let those items limit my hope and capabilities, as you should not let any item, thing, or person limit you.

Hope, as I state with passion in my past writings, is your key to thriving and surviving, the necessary ingredient for us to live each day.

We must hold a strong belief in ourselves above all else, for you are your best advocate. 

I challenge you all to do your best when coping with hardship. If you remain kind and helpful and aim to thrive to your fullest potential, you have won the golden ticket. Courage and hope, my friends, are your victories to defeat where we once felt lost.

Lest we must remember to celebrate our achievements and progressions as each new day, we become a better version of the person we were yesterday.  I should know as today my singing is better than eons ago.

Friends, may my words be summed up to this; never give up, and never lose faith and hope in yourself and others. It’s that simple.

- Rabbi Merle E. Singer