Call to Adventure
Everyone has a fundamental decision to make when they find out they have an illness: Am I going to be a victim or am I going to be a hero on my quest?
Every great journey begins with a hero. The hero of this particular journey, the hero meant to receive the tools, support and inspiration offered on this website, is you.
In Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he writes about how the important myths from around the world and throughout time all share a fundamental structure. Heroes follow a path that takes them from their known world, initiates them into a new world order, and returns them, forever changed, into the old world with new talents and gifts to share with their community.
If you have MS, or any serious illness, you’ve been called to your own adventure. Your illness is your journey into the unknown, an opportunity to rediscover what’s been left out of your life, an opportunity to experience profound transformation.
You should know that I am not speaking idealistically or naively. I have been sick for thirteen years, only diagnosed with MS for three. I have suffered intensely. I know what it’s like to wish only for the strength to get through the day. I know the desperation of thinking that perhaps I’d be better off not living. And yet, I believe that my illness was my call to adventure, and in believing so, it has opened up the space for me to transcend the ordinary world I was living in and find – in my struggle – a gift worth returning to share. Maybe this just is not true for you. Perhaps for you, being sick just plain sucks. If so, this website is not for you, and that’s okay. If, however, you perceive your illness as your call to your adventure, you open yourself to a transformation that was previously impossible.
I wake up now every day to an entire life that I’ve designed to support my purpose. I have dedicated readers of my blog and private clients who count on me to help them to discover the magic and the healing possibilities in their lives. And this responsibility requires that I am healthy enough to do this work, so it forces me to prioritize my health and continue to improve. And in order to do the work I do, I must be not just healthy but stable and centered and always operating from a position of possibility. My life has become exquisitely singular. My work, my friends and associates, my family – all of these elements are signals that reinforce my purpose and keep me operating at my best. I am doing what I love with the tools I learned on my journey, and I am living a magical life as a result.
Your life too will change in this way, it will become magical and singular when you heed the call to adventure and discover your own unique purpose.
Your illness could be your gateway to something greater than you ever could have imagined before – the trail of breadcrumbs that leads you to your unique, profound purpose in this world. But it’s your choice. Is it going to be an obstacle – or an opportunity – to live a meaningful life?
For more information on working with me privately, click HERE. I will help you navigate the obstacles and challenges of living with chronic illness, and I’ll help you move beyond that to a place in which you are sorting for the opportunities present in your life.
this is so exciting!!!! when i think of what becomes possible through your work… thank you, Karen.
Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!
hi, this isn’t about this post specifically but i didn’t see a place to contact you directly. what do you think of CCVSI? i just heard about it last week and AP did a story on it recently. i’m so intrigued.
hi amy. check out http://www.wheelchairkamikaze.com – his blog has a lot of excellent info on CCSVI and he also recently had the operation himself. you can also find a lot of info on http://www.msviewsandnews.org/. hope this helps!
karen
Karen,
I read your book last night — WOW!!!! This is EXACTLY the SAME philosophy that I have adopted since my diagnosis in 2006. I have secondary progressive MS. Since that time; I have lost over 100 lbs, active at my local gym attending step aerobics, body pump, and pilates classes. I even just joined the running club. (I am also 50 years old.) Obviously, I have never believed in stopping. Last year, I did 3-5K races with a cane in hand. (Plus the good news is I was not last — think of the poor people behind me that was beaten by the 50 yr old women with a cane – now that is sad…) So we shall see how that goes. I have been getting stronger and been walking more and more without my cane as assistance. I have adopted more of the Swank diet approach. I eat primarily fruit and raw vegetables – no red meat. It makes a HUGE difference!!! Plus, I am VERY ACTIVE with the MS Society and serve as an activist. It has been truly inspiring!!! It was so WONDERFUL to read something – with the same ideals as mine – “you have the choice – not to be a victim”. But it is true – there are SO many variables that you must consider – your spirituality, your nutrition, exercise, and also disgarding those that are not “healthy” for you. Yes – you have to learn to say “No” and you have to do things that may have you look “different”. But you have to stay true to the path. With that path comes healing — physically and spiritually. I just want to TRULY THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WITH ALL MY HEART FOR YOUR BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you pam! sounds like you are quite the inspiration yourself!!! your spirit comes right through the computer screen.
keep on keepin’ on girl! i love it!!!