We’ve just come off the July 4th weekend and if your neighborhood was anything like mine it was filled with lots of barbeques, fun, and of course fireworks. About a week before the big day I received an invitation to a 4th of July party across the street. It was a no brainer so I RSVP’d a big fat YES and had a great time. Then I began to think about all the invitations we get in the mail for weddings, holiday parties, and a host of other celebratory engagements and each time an RSVP is requested. So my question for you is, “Are you waiting to be invited to your own life?”
Fortunately, once you’re born there is no invitation to your own life. You either live your life or you don’t; that decision is yours and yours alone. Following the diagnosis of a chronic or life-threatening illness I know many people who sat around waiting for an invitation back into their life and unfortunately, they’re still waiting.
What does this mean for you? It means that you have to stay engaged and not only in the medical side of your life but all sides of your life. It means staying connected even when you’re not at your best. You don’t have to go out and be with people, but simple things like e-mails to people keeps them and you engaged in the relationship you’ve developed over time. People want to be informed and this is one way to do it.
Last week I read Jill Bolte Taylor’s, My Stroke of Insight, a brilliant pathography about her experience with a brain hemorrhage and the years it took for health and healing. She shares about her mother putting all the cards she received all around her apartment so Taylor knew the magnitude of her reach and the love that was coming her way. She punctuated the point that the people who were closest to her were there for her, not to make themselves feel better by showing up to see the “sick” person. If you haven’t read this book, whether or not you’ve had a stroke, I encourage you to learnt he lessons Taylor learned over the course of her recovery.
She didn’t wait to be invited back to her life; she fought with every ounce of energy to regain what she lost. She had the help of others who knew her potential and understood what health and healing meant and required. If she had waited for the universe to invite her back to her own life she wouldn’t be walking, talking, or possibly even living today. She knew deep in her heart that she was the host, the party giver, the person making the plans and she planned for recovery.
If you didn’t wait for an invitation to your own life what would you be doing today of your impetus? How will your life change if you always RSVP YES to your own life? How would others know this is the case? I’d love to know what you’re thinking because if I can be of any assistance; I’d love to be invited to your party!!!
Pilgrim Pathway/Surviving Strong 