The Attitude of Gratitude in the Presence of Parkinson’s

"The only thing you should feel entitled to is gratitude," J.S. Mason “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” Epictetus Introduction: The blog post's title is not meant to suggest one needs to be grateful for having a neurodegenerative …

Living Better with Parkinson’s

"Life is a journey, not a destination. Happiness is not "there" but here, not "tomorrow" but today." Sidney Greenberg "The moment in between what you once were, and who you are now becoming, is where the dance of life really takes place." Barbara De Angelis Précis: This post reminds the Person (People)-with-Parkinson's disease (PwP) that …

Parkinson’s: Times Like These

"Longevity is having a chronic disease - and taking care of it." Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." Confucius Precis: Today marks an anniversary of sorts. It is the 250th blog post for the "Journey with Parkinson's." "All great things have small beginnings." Peter Senge …

The Positive Impact of Friends: Journey with Parkinson’s

"A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world." Lois Wyse "Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart" Eleanor Roosevelt Introduction: I have …

Thought for Thursday: With A Little Help From My Friends

"If you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything." Muhammad Ali "A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world." Leo Buscaglia Importance of Friends: Although one cannot deny the disorder's existence, we do not live totally through the lens of Parkinson's. Although we rely on our intuition …

The Significance of a Birthday: Journey with Parkinson’s

"Just remember, once you're over the hill you begin to pick up speed." Arthur Schopenhauer "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." Mark Twain Introduction: For 26 years, I taught undergraduate Biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill entitled "Biology of Blood Diseases." We …

Word for Wednesday: Resilience

"Resilience is not what happens to you. It’s how you react to, respond to, and recover from what happens to you." Jeffrey Gitomer “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” Friedrich Nietzsche "The greater the force of your compassion, the greater your resilience in confronting hardships." Dalai Lama Defining …

The Bookcase: Journey With Parkinson’s

"You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy." John Calvin "Long is the road from conception to completion." Moliere Précis: This post is about completing a task. SImple for many of you likely, but not always for me. As part of moving away from Chapel Hill, NC, I had …

Word for Wednesday: Persistence

"Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement." Albert Camus "It's not what you start in life, it's what you finish." Katharine Hepburn "Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries." James A. Michener "No great achievement is possible without persistent work." Bertrand Russell Introduction: I have been very …

Life in the Presence of Parkinson’s: A Daily Mantra

"Gratitude is the greatest prayer. Thank you is the greatest mantra." Swami Nithyananda "My mantra: Brainless exercise is a lost opportunity for improvement." Michael Merzenich Definition: Mantra, man·tra (/ˈmantrə/) noun: mantra; plural noun: mantras.1. (originally in Hinduism and Buddhism) A word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. "A mantra is given to a …