The cover article of the December 8 issue of People magazine is about Michael J. Fox. Many people remember him as the wise-cracking, Reagan-worshipping, conservative Republican teenager in Family Ties, or perhaps from his Back To The Future movies or his mid-90s role in Spin City. This article, however, was about the ten years since he shared with the world that he has Parkinson’s disease.
What was amazing to me was the attitude he has. You can read the article for all the details about the disease and the trials and tribulations it causes him. There also is a nice piece about his wife and four children. What I want to share is one of his quotes about his life and his circumstances.
In a section about the medications he has to take every couple of hours, he commented that having Parkinson’s “is part of an amazing life. And it’s not an “otherwise’ amazing life,” he said. It’s part of what makes my life amazing.”
Read that again. He did not say that he has an amazing life in spite of Parkinson’s. He did not say he had an amazing life until he discovered he had Parkinson’s. He did not say that he has an amazing life except or the Parkinson’s. He said that Parkinson’s is part of what makes his life amazing.
What would be possible if we looked at our difficulties that way? What if we said, “My [fill in the blank problem] is part of what makes my life amazing.” Try it. Every day.
For more information about Parkinson’s disease or how you can help, visit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research website.
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