Making The Most of a Situation: My views

I just saw that I have about 4 blog entries so far this year! WOW! How COOL is that? I'm super proud of myself for that. It's not that I don't have much to say, but I have to work extra hard to be extra careful about how I say it and that usually kills the mojo. I'm hoping though, that i'll make it regular enough, even if some may turn out to be one paragraph blogs or just posting of links FYI. 


Today's posting: Make the most of the situations you find yourself in. It's very easy to pick out negatives or positives and then just RUN with them. The results can be varied: might end up being a good thing as you save yourself some distress or hurt; might end up being a bad thing in that you may end up having a wrong impression of something. But there's always something to learn about the people and situations involved.


I'm generally a pessimist (it helps especially when things to bad as they often do because in my view, it allows me to prepare for Plan B/C/D or just the disappointment that comes along). But, i'm learning to be pessimistic in a positive manner. Over the past couple of years, and more so over the last two-three weeks, I've been experiencing a lot of stuff from all corners - work, family, friends, etc. Everybody seems to think it's me....of course, I don't agree with them. Over that time, I've learned one skill - to sit back and review carefully the goings on, picking out the positives and negatives from them. I find that I am able to deal much better with them and the consequences arising. The lessons i've picked:


Work - the general idea of being at a work place is to of course provide the service, but to also learn from the place as much as possible. We generally learn how to work in an office: how to draft letters; how to communicate verbally with colleagues and strangers; how to communicate with the communities we serve; how to prepare project documents - proposals, reports, etc. We learn about our organisations and other like-minded organisations. But, there's also another learning that is possible within the organisations. Learning how NOT to do stuff. So, for all those "negative" things that you experience in your workplace, still take it as a positive and learn from them. I can honestly tell you that I have learned how NOT to mismanage communication; I've learned how to NOT dis-empower people; I've learned NOT to assume things; I have learned to fight for what is right; I've learned NOT to take advantage of people and NOT to take other people for granted (e.g. support staff). I've learned NOT to put up with mediocrity. I've learned also that TEAMWORK is just a MYTH - so, I just NIKE - i.e. JUST DO IT even though it may not be my responsibility, but if it is related to my assignment in any way, I JUST DO IT. I've learned that your time and effort will never be appreciated - but, one must stick to what they signed onto when they were employed. So you have to suck it in and continue to provide the services anyway. The most important thing is stick to the SOPs and you will never go wrong. 


Family - WOW.....the lessons I've learned from this one are just more than I can post about. More importantly though I have learned that no matter how old you are, the older people still treat you like a kid and expect that you will just go with the flow/follow their lead, even when it's not leading in a good direction because they seem to always know what's best. I've learned that even though i'm much younger, I really do look at things from a different angle that most of them don't, and which inevitably become VERY important aspects later on. I've learned that I need to stand on my own and not expect that support from any other person - that if it comes, well and good. If it doesn't, I need to be strong enough to move along by myself.


Friends - same learning as with family; same learning as with work. The nature of the world today has meant that friends are only there when good things happen. Friends have no space to accommodate friends issues anymore, which is understandable - there's really so much going on in the world and in people's lives, they're bound to be tired of listening to other people's problems. But, I've learned, from my own experiences, to always reach out and when one reaches out to me, to always be there for them no matter what I'm going through in my life. To never get exhausted by a friend that is reaching outNow, don't be cheated: I've got my own fair share of dramas. I have increasingly found myself without people to talk to about it. Some try to show you that they also have similar or more pressing issues, rather than just providing you that arm to lean on, or that shoulder to cry on. So, I've learned to suck my stuff up and STAND on my own and somehow these things just work out on their own - that's the mighty hand of the Man Above at work I believe. So, through this experience, i've learned to "accept the things I cannot change". 


The moral of the story - several passages later is....MAKE THE MOST OF THE SITUATIONS you find yourself in;  positive or negative, they provide very valuable lessons either way.

Epilepsy Awareness - March 26 2012

I didn't know that such a day existed. But, that's the beauty of the internet. It is easy to get such information, as opposed to the olden days.

Epilepsy is defined as: "a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures (convulsions) over time. Seizures are episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in attention or behavior. Epilepsy occurs when permanent changes in brain tissue cause the brain to be too excitable or jumpy. The brain sends out abnormal signals. This results in repeated, unpredictable seizures. (A single seizure that does not happen again is not epilepsy.) Epilepsy may be due to a medical condition or injury that affects the brain, or the cause may be unknown (idiopathic)".


The day is marked by a purple ribbon - and people often wear purple, to observe the day. I too will don my purple top tomorrow to show solidarity with sufferers of this disease. The observance of this day was started in 2008, by nine-year-old Cassidy Megan of Nova Scotia, Canada, with the help of the Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia (EANS). Cassidy chose the colour purple after the international colour for epilepsy, lavender. The lavender flower is also often associated with solitude, which is representative of the feelings of isolation many people affected by epilepsy and seizure disorders often feel. Cassidy's goal is for people with epilepsy everywhere to know they are not alone. To learn more about Cassidy and Global Purple Day Partners EANS and The Anita Kaufmann Foundation (AKFUS), please visit http://www.purpleday.org/.


To be honest, I still don't know much about this disease. My first experience with it was as traumatic as anything ever. One day while seated in a room, my otherwise healthy relative let out a long cry and proceeded to convulse. I don't remember how old I was, but I was damned scared of the situation, and frankly, to this day continue to be. You have to understand that, as a kid growing up, we only ever knew of people suffering from Malaria as the WORST disease (don't get me wrong, but that was the only ailment we knew in people). This one - we had no idea what it was, and how it came about, although from my understanding, it may have been a brain injury as a result of a car accident. The only treatment available is medication.


My relative continues to suffer from them. I am ashamed to say that I have never had a discussion with him about it. He's had several seizures in my presence, and it still scares me what could happen to him if they come on when he's not in a "safe" environment.  But, I continue to pray for him and hope that he continues to manage the disease well as he somehow has over the past few years. 


So, for the day, I remember and honour my relative, this disease and the many people suffering from it (Epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide or approximately 1 in 100 people. That's more than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease combined ~ according to http://www.purpleday.org/). I really do hope a more sustainable and long lasting cure for the disease could be found. In the meantime, I salute you for continuing your life without letting the disease hinder anything that you do!


My prayer for this year is that I one day get the courage to discuss this disease with him. To learn more about it from him, and how he has managed himself over the year. More importantly, to show him my support as he battles the disease.

If You don't know me by now......

All I have to say today to the world is: If you don't know me by now, then you will NEVER EVER know me....