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Nov 09, 2009, 11:12 PM
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Member Since: Aug 2009
Location: Fringes of the bell-shaped curve
Posts: 779
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   Thanks for starting this thread, (((Pom))) - great article and discussion. And a very interesting and thought-provoking perspective on it from the Ancient Greeks, (((cyber))). Thanks for that. I have to agree with what I believe most everyone here has said - it's not a question of whether or not to hope at all, but whether or not what you are hoping for is realistic.
For me personally, I do not hope to be "cured." None of my chronic medical or psychological conditions are ever going away - too much neurological damage to the spinal cord and sciatic nerves, left shoulder, arm, and hand. I have been in pain all my life and will continue to be in pain. I stopped taking pain medication in the 70s after my surgeries - they did little to help the pain, and long-term use would do much more harm than it was worth. Best to learn to live with it and hope that I have the inner strength, courage, and determination to push the boundaries of the limitations it placed on me. I have used this approach with all of the rest of my medical and mental "infirmities" and have gained ground in "managing" them. Despite them all, I managed to work full-time and support myself for 32 years before becoming disabled by them. My hope is to continue to fight to live my life to the fullest extent possible despite them all. That's a hope I can live with. And I hope everyone here can find a way to make peace with the realities of their own situations and find a way to live rich and full lives anyway. You all deserve only the best.
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"I walked a mile with Pleasure; she chattered all the way, But left me none the wiser for all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow and ne'er a word said she; But oh, the things I learned from her when Sorrow walked with me!"
(Robert Browning Hamilton; "Along The Road")
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