January 1st marks the start of a new year, the start of a fresh beginning, the dawning of a new era. This is something that we all need after this dumpster fire of a year. When the going got tough, as a society we banded together to overcome this historical situation. While the response was not perfect, we have made great strides in the way we handle world crisis, and who’s to say what perfect even is. All we can do is continue to grow and learn from our collective experiences. And for that we can be proud, and look to the future with renewed hope.
With the new year comes new hope. Hope to never give up, no matter what the odds are because you never know where you will be one year from now. Hope for a brighter future for all. The goal is never to hope for perfection, but simply to work on the here and now.
That has never held more true for me then through my own recovery journey. Never once did I hope, strive or even yearn for pre-injury perfection. After all what is perfection? What I did yearn for and work towards was re-achieving my lifestyle. Most of the professional clinicians, my lawyers, therapists and case managers expected me to break down as if this was the end of the world… after all at the time I was metaphorically shackled to a hospital bed and could only see shadows. What they didn’t realize, and what I had to explain to them was that I have seen strong amazing individuals persevere through so much worse despite the odds. So who was I to complain?
Complaining doesn’t get you anywhere, but persevering does.
If they could be strong and brave, so could I. So even though I was told that I was never going to be able to see again, walk perfectly again, have full use of my dominant hand again, I never let that stop me from achieving my life goals.
It was never about seeing perfectly… It was simply about being able to live my life. For me that includes wearing makeup, dressing up to the nines, reading, writing, cooking and baking. And of course shopping until I drop!!! I have seen firsthand from inspiring amazing people around me not to let any diagnosis limit what I am capable of doing. You simply have to make your situation work for you. There is even a master chef winner who is completely blind. She did not let her diagnosis limit her from achieving her life goals. Don’t let anything stop you or hold you back.
For me my goals were significantly smaller and lifestyle dependent. I had smaller more tangible goals that grew as I progressed. Something as simple as practising my eyeliner and mascara every single day even if I was going to physiotherapy. Sometimes that meant looking like a band member from Kiss with mascara running down my face, but that was OK since I was re-learning how to put on my own makeup without poking my eye out. And as someone who had lost some of their proprioception, this was no easy feat. Relearning how to walk in heels, how to cook, how to bake, all of these things were lifestyle goals, and in the process I ended up even farther than where I thought I would be.
It was never the goal to see perfectly again, and to walk perfectly again but by working on my lifestyle goals I regained so much more of my vision, and I was able to walk one year before anyone said I could, and in heels no less.
It wasn’t perfect, it isn’t perfect but what even is perfect? We truly don’t know what the new year will bring, but what we do know is that we can make the best out of any situation, and with the cards that life has given us. Who knows what 2021 will bring but we as a society will keep strong and keep moving on, and isn’t that what life is all about?
Happy New Year everybody!