Just saw the movie, The Theory of Everything, about the life of Stephen Hawking. Talk about resiliency, perseverance, rising above and beyond! He is a supreme example of overcoming adversity! Having lived over 50 years with the {most often} fatal and horrifically degenerative disease, ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, he is clearly an outlier. But besides living way beyond the usual life expectancy for this illness, he is an outlier because of his incredible ability to rise above and continue on. Having lost all physical and bodily functions including his ability to speak and write, he wasn’t giving up on life. He used technology to speak and write for him so that he could use the one thing he had left – a brilliant working mind.
He never let his limitations, as extreme as they were, further limit him. While his body was contracting, he – his spirit and mind – was expanding. They continued {and continue} to evolve.
I don’t know the medical/scientific reasons for living so long with this fatal disease; I’m not sure anybody knows at this point. But to me this points to the concept of mind over matter, literally. His mind overtook his body and kept it ticking. And talk about the idea of Purpose keeping us going. He had a driving force – contemplating, discovering, creating and teaching new ideas. His brain churned and churned, and continues today.
Are we pushing through our difficulties and growing ourselves? Are we utilizing our gifts? Are we expanding our potential? Are we choosing to live beyond our challenges? Are we looking at ways we Can Do as opposed to fallen victim to what we Can’t Do?
The choice is always ours.
