Tag: Thoughts

Beautiful Journey

Today’s a new day! As many of you know, I was diagnosed with young-onset dementia last September (2024). Life has changed in many ways since that diagnosis. Writing down my thoughts is much tougher these days. This post literally took me several weeks to write. Finding my words to write or speak can be a daunting challenge at times. As I navigate this new reality of living with dementia, I want to share the journey with you. To answer your questions and to share my thoughts for as long as I can. The following is a question I get a lot as I continue to run this crazy beautiful health journey.

What gives you the strength to remain positive?

My Christian faith gives me deep meaning in life, giving me hope for the future and a perspective of my life being eternal, not simply limited to what I see and experience on this side of Heaven. This life and my health journey are temporary.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” ~2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I have met so many people with different health challenges during my journey, all at various stages of ability due to their declining health. But each person still remains an individual, with their true inner being shining through. The eyes remain a window into someone’s soul, and reflect our humanity.

As my thoughts and overall health becomes a bigger challenge, I see more clearly the importance of relationships. I also see and feel myself traveling through a wide range of emotions, even if they become a little more scrambled with the dementia. Our emotions connect us to each other, allowing us to form relationships, which is a mark of truly being human. As this journey takes me deeper within myself, I find myself reflecting more on God and how to truly live life more for Him. This is what gives me an abiding sense of meaning as I travel on this health journey wherever it takes me. Because I know the final destination is filled with peace and ultimate healing. As a Christian, the ending is really the beginning.

So as I continue to run this health race, I remain positive, feeling that I am gaining along this journey a far better sense of what it means to be truly alive and that much can be achieved to help others as I continue travel this crazy beautiful journey. ~OC

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Happiness

I enjoy writing and posting articles on social media. What I write or post are my thoughts, beliefs and opinions. There will be some who agree with my writing and there will be others who will not. No one is obligated to enjoy, agree with, or applaud my writing. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. They can think that everything I have to say is wrong and go on to try and convince everyone that their thoughts and opinions are the only ones that matter.

I cannot control what other people think about me, my writings or post.

What I can control though, is what I think about these things myself.

I enjoy writing. I also enjoy sharing things I’ve written. I enjoy the conversations that my writings or post create. Whether you agree with me or not. I write and post for myself. Not others. I am happy with everything I write and post. I can look back on older writings and see where I have grown as a person. That makes me happy.

The truth is, my dream never involved an expectation to write things that everyone likes. I recognize how I cannot accomplish that, because I understand that nobody can accomplish that. No human can make everyone happy.

You should therefore accept that you can’t make everyone happy either — and know that it’s alright, because nobody expects you to. When you put yourself out there for the world to see, there will undoubtedly be people who will disagree with you. You’ll upset people, make them angry, and once you do, they’ll do their best to prove their opinion every time you post something they disagree with.

Please do not let them succeed in doing so. Let go of the idea that you can make everyone happy, and focus on being true to your values and beliefs. That is something you can control. It’s up to everybody else to decide whether or not they agree with your opinions or not. It’s also up to that person to be okay with people having different views, beliefs and opinions. Some people will just never be happy with what you write or post. And that’s okay. Keep living your life. ~OC

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Blogging

Today’s a new day! It’s been six years since I started my blog. I have used my blog to share about my health journey and my thoughts on different issues that mean a lot to me. The last few days, I have spent some time reflecting on the last six years of blogging.

  1. Intellectual Stimulation:
    One of the most jarring changes was going from an active social and work lifestyle to a life filled with constant medical appointments and having issues with problem solving can be a bit jarring. Having a blog has given me an impetus to really think about issues. It forced me to write regularly, to think about issues, to engage in at least a limited conversation on intellectual topics I cared about. Instead of being a passive consumer of ideas, posts,
    articles, essays, and books, I became an active one.

The knowledge that my writing would be open and available for anyone to read and judge made me think even harder to develop my own thoughts and opinions. If you write a crappie paper in a college course, the professor gives you a poor grade and you file it away. If you write a halfhearted post, it’s out there for anyone to read. Family, friends, and strangers. All of them now have a growing body of my writing to read, disagree with, and critique if they’re so inclined. For a non- scholar like myself, this provides some major motivation to really think and work at what I write.

  1. Joining a Community:
    Blogging also let me jump into a vibrant online community of digital historians and humanists. Instead of being something of a sideline observer, I laced up and joined the fray. Doing so not only exposed me to a wide range of new ideas and possibilities, but also introduced me to a number of fascinating and inspiring people. Which has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams. Especially for a newer writer like myself, having a blog gave me confidence and allowed me to participate in a wider dialogue.

Moving forward, the connections I have made through blogging and publishing two books, will hopefully help me become a better and more thoughtful writer.

  1. Feedback:
    I am a firm believer that there’s no point in writing into a void. While much of my blogging was “for myself,” in that I wrote about what interested me, the most rewarding part by far is the response I’ve received. The positive , negative and indifferent. Those comments have helped me become a better writer and person. I still write based on my thoughts and experiences, but I do take into account past feedback before posting. But I will never compromise my beliefs to make sure everyone agrees with my latest post.

I am not sure what the future will hold for my blog and writing. On Monday of this week, I was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. That will definitely change the way I write or don’t write. Regardless, blogging at The Blessed Overcomer, has been, and I hope will continue to be, an enriching experience. ~OC

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Thoughts and Prayers

Today’s a new day!

You can call me…

A Liberal

A Snowflake

Anti Gun

Anti 2nd Amendment

Overreacting

But, I am tired of seeing students, teachers and staff killed just for going to school. Thoughts and prayers are just empty words if there is no action taken. ~OC

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