Ordinary Joys

Help support the 2020 Boston Walk For Epilepsy!  

Thank you to everyone for your donations - I am at $205 out of $500 now.  $295 left to reach my goal, and it is not even March.  I am so grateful for everyone's offers of support throughout this journey.  The world is a tough place for a lot of people, but it also full of kindness, and I appreciate all the people that I have come to know throughout this life.


A year or two before the picture on the left was taken in Valladolid, Yucatan, I was seizing about ten times an hour.  Constant burning and warmth running up and down my right arm and into my fingertips.  Sometimes even up into my face or down my leg.  Having to leave work early for fear that this episodes would generalize put me on the EMU for the first time.  Even though I took my medications as best I could, I did suffer two tonic clonic seizures at home, and was admitted to the hospital in 2018 and 2019.  Away from the everyday obligations, work and societal pressures, I was seizure-free for a week between the dates of January 17th and 24th, 2020.  

I am back from my trip and yes, I have had some focal seizures, but I came back with a renewed sense of purpose.  I'd like to help others find ways to heal themselves and to find joy in the ordinary.  What we could call simple and mundane can also serve as a moment for reflection and renewal.  Our technology can be used for good, but we can also build more time to foster our own connection to Nature.  Meaning that we need time away from our screens, from the beeps, from the artificial walls we have built around ourselves.  There is a universe inside of us, around us and within the beings that exist alongside us.  During this lifetime, let's grow with, share joy in, and honor the connections that we encounter.  

 


One community I can recommend is Gateway Arts, an art studio that helps people with disabilities to thrive in creative careers.  It is located in Brookline Village, sponsored by Vinfen, and was an important part of my own healing process many years ago.  The Studio E program through the Epilepsy Foundation is an additional source of community and creative expression that can be especially helpful for people suffering from epilepsy and seizure disorders.  I have not attended a session through this program yet, but I encourage anyone who has to let us know how it helped them!