Community

Most of us with MS have been there. You get the news, there is a brief moment of nothingness - almost weightless, as if finally you've been heard. Validation for the months/years of silent suffering. After that, your world seems to collapse around you. Your identity and purpose is thrown into question.

And then there's the rebuild. Adjustment. Questions. Possibilities - or lack of. Adjustment is sometimes the hardest. But figuring out ways to start enjoying life again is a monumental task. But we're gifted with this once in a lifetime opportunity to actually live with intention. Most people don't experience this. Only those with a serious shake up. A slap in the face, as if someone says "this life is not a rehearsal - start living it".

I did this by leaning right into a part of me that I was always unapologetically proud of. My love for the outdoors. And I had to adapt. Exploring the great outdoors by human-powered means had taken a hit. So I joined a small group of explorers, that powers themselves with combustion engines and good conversations.

Here's our community. At the top of a hill somewhere deep in the Victorian High Country. On one of our recent adventures. So deep in adventure and happiness, I forget the shadow that follows me daily. I can't see it in rear view mirror or right in front of me, therefore it does not matter.