Optimism = Hope, Trust and Faith

As a certified Hypnotherapist, Trainer and Professional Coach, I am constantly on the look out for information that will help guide my clients to a more peaceful and less chaotic life. Well, I just finished reading Michael J Fox’s new book: Always Looking Up (The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist). This book was utterly fantastic and I recommend it as a great read.

In the book, Mike talks about his battle with Parkinson’s disease and how he began the process of creating a foundation for its research. This is not a How To book, but the messages of courage, hope and commitment are woven artfully throughout the pages. For the most part, he simply talks of how one needs the support of others and the courage to speak up when something matters enough.

This book spoke to me on a number of levels. First because my Mother-In-Law suffers from Parkinson’s – thankfully she has not had the same degree of symptoms that Mr. Fox suffers from, but the challenges that each of these patients’s face is apparent in the chapters.

Secondly, because I recently felt the urge to stand up for something personal (and urgent) and have discovered the true gift of friends and the generosity of the human spirit. Sometimes, all we need to do is ask and the universe will provide!

I am currently in the process of creating a fundraising campaign for my identical twin sister (Fern) who is extremely ill. She needs to seek medical treatments outside of Canada for a rare disease known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). This is a progressive disease of the automatic nervous system and is characterized by constant and extremely intense pain.

A light breeze across Fern’s legs is enough to cause excruciating pain. The disease can result in complete loss of limb function; however Fern battles this symptom daily by spending painful hours working them to keep as much muscle mass as possible – Fern is not giving up without a fight. She has been through years of painful treatments, one of which resulted in a disc in Fern’s back being torn; requiring surgical replacement. She has decided to attempt the experimental treatment as a last resort. The trial is extremely dangerous as the patient is put into a 5 day coma, to help ‘re-boot’ their nervous system. Although risky, the prognosis for those who successfully complete the trial is very encouraging.

As I work with friends to pull together the fundraising initiatives needed to make this happen, this book could not have come along at a better time. Michael J Fox speaks about the need for family and friends when things are tough. In one part of the book, he explains how lucky he has been (the title of his first book) to have been surrounded by incredible people. He talks of the perseverance, commitment and courage of people like Lance Armstrong, Christopher Reeve and Mohamed Ali and inspires us all to take another look at our lives and discover how we can contribute - very philanthropic!

The book is filled with incredible thought provoking and humorous antidotes. But, one of my favourite quotes shows up lin a later chapter. It starts with the reflection on optimism and hope and combines thoughts of Christopher Reeve (who became a quadriplegic as a result of a horseback riding accident) and expanded on by himself:

“Unlike Optimism, Hope is the product of knowledge and the projection of where the knowledge can take us. If optimism is a happy-go-lucky expectation that the odds are in my favour, that things are likely to break my way, and if hope is an informed optimism, facts converting desire into possibility, then faith is the third leg of the stool. Faith tells me that I’m not alone”.

Today, I wanted to share that message and will keep it in mind as I move frantically forward in my attempts to raise $75,000 in 120 days: Trust, Hope & Faith

(We could sure use your help with our fundraising efforts, visit us at: www.faithforfern.com where donations can be made online and you can learn more about RSD and the experimental treatments we are desperate to raise the money for. In addition, we have created both Twitter and Facebook Pages so you can become a fan and follow our progress: http://twitter.com/Faith_Fern and for Facebook: This is the badge link - which is very long! I have also attached the url link - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Faith-For-Fern-Give-an-Hour-of-Hope/100346109080?ref=ts )