Celebrating (and Respecting) The Days

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."  (What??  It's MLKJ Day, thought I wouldn't quote that genius of a man??)  The same can be said and/or applied to the life of an RSDer.  Chronic pain is a large and all-consuming beast.  But it doesn't have to be all-consuming, it can be used as a springboard to a brighter way of life if the sufferer can make the conscious decision to step outside of their little box and see that Earth does not revolve around them.  I am so incredibly proud of the RSD community dwellers that have done just that!!  The sufferers that turn their negatives into positives continue to refuel my hope in a brighter future for all RSDers.

I am noticing more and more RSDers turning their fateful day of contraction into something that deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated.  This elates me!!  I joined Facebook in 2009, and since then I have met numerous RSDers.  Some give me hope; some inspire me to be a better person; some make me crinkle my eye brows and shake my head; some piss me off with their lies, negativity, and selfishness; and some, very few in fact, put other RSDers ahead of themselves and strive to better the "whole" and not just their "one."  The same can be said of RSD caretakers and family members.  Some Normies get so wrapped up in their own RSDer that they forget about the feelings of others, RSDers and Normies alike.  Everyone deserves to handle their Date of "Injury" as they see fit.  It's called Free Will.  But those who choose to celebrate their anniversary, deserve to have that day recognized, more-so even than an actual birthday.  It's the day we began to survive!!  Almost everyone gets a shot at "birth" but not everyone gets a true "survival story."  Our anniversaries are our soapboxes for our individual survival stories.

When RSDers have made the conscious decision to fight back, I have made the conscious decision to participate.  Over these last few years I have participated in a Superhero Day, a Comfort Food Day, an Ice Cream Day, a Dress Your Animal in Orange Day (FURSDay ... yep, that one's mine), an Orange Mani/Pedi Day, and, of course, Crazy Sock Day.  If you or your RSDer have a way to celebrate your/their day, let me know and I will participate in that one too!!  Just know this when asking me to join in your fun, I participate out of my respect for survivors.  Everyone deserves for their day to be special and just about them.  When someone tries to promote their day, event, or RSDer on someone else's day or at someone else's event, I take offense and begin contemplating withdrawing my participation from the infiltrator's day.  In my opinion that is selfish coattail surfing.  If you want to have friends and supporters, you must first be a friend and supporter.  Just because we have RSD does not mean that we are entitled to everyone's support, nor does it give us carte blanche to demand their support.  So if you do have a Special Day, be respectful about it, please.  The more UNselfish we are, the more the world opens up and supports us.

Last year, The Warrior Mama asked me, personally, to spearhead Crazy Sock Day because they, as a family, were preparing for the Smiling Warrior's GP surgery.  This was one of the greatest "yes's" I have ever given!!  I stepped outside of myself to help another RSDer and the cause became a mission ... and then it became my "job."  This is how I get out and help someone other that myself.  This is my unselfish act.  This is my ambition.  No one asks for money or donations of any kind.  It's just awareness, pure and simple.  And promoting awareness is my life!!  This year I get to work hand-in-hand with the Florida Warrior Family as a co-administrator, along with our Spunky Warrior from Mass.  I am blessed with people in my life that have the same goal as I do, Awareness, nothing more, nothing less.

I have faith that these next 3 days will fly by and that, by Thursday, The Crazy Sock Clan will join forces for the greatest awareness event of the year!!  I have faith that more RSDers will start seeing their onset of RSD as a reason to celebrate their survival.  I have faith that I will continue to participate in other RSDer's Days when I am asked.  We all deserve our own Day, because we are all still here to tell our stories.  Please tell your story, but remember to do it with respect!!

3 DAY UNTIL CRAZY SOCK DAY 3!!!  ARE ... YOU ... READY??????