Ok, so you lost your keys, you have looked everywhere… twice… and still cannot find them… then they miraculously appear in the one place you are certain you have looked the closest… And we have all done it. Or you are panicking for the misplaced purse and have checked all the likely and unlikely places, yet it turns up somewhere you really checked diligently, but honestly didn’t expect it to be…
It makes me wonder sometimes just how much we miss because we are simply not looking, even when we genuinely think that we are. And what happens when we honestly think that we are doing our very best and cannot do better, so that we shroud ourselves in complacency?
How many of us actually look at ourselves and realise we are behaving and believing blindly and through habit? The dragon sleeps quietly before the fire, the armour rusts in a corner. The spirit of the explorer and adventurer we once were has retired from the fray. We are comfortable and why should we risk upsetting the status quo?
But take it from another perspective and it is not so scary to contemplate.
It is common knowledge that my eldest son was left severely injured and close to death, but survived to fight his way back to health. He spent several months in a rehab unit designed to ‘enable’. Yet we found that far from enabling, the ethos of the place, excellent though it was, actually held him back. The real recovery only began when he came home and we had the freedom to be unconventional and unrealistic.
Now it is, admittedly, a fine line to tread between substitution and restitution in these circumstances. It was early days in his long and as yet incomplete recovery. But almost everything in the rehab unit, from the physical therapies to the psychological input was geared to ensuring that patients accepted the inevitability of their disabilities and to teaching them how to live with them. There was never any mention of fighting back, of possibility, hope, or the difference strength, courage and determination can make.
Yet this is, undoubtedly, one of the best rehab units in the country. We fought to get him there. They are genuinely encouraging, obviously doing their best, efficiently and effectively teaching strategies to allow patients to learn how to adapt to disability in the harsh and unusual world they will have to face. They would, I think, be horrified if they ever realised how negative the effects of their stance can be.
Had we accepted what we were taught there, there is no doubt my son would be constantly wheelchair-bound and in need of care, instead of getting around his own home on his own two feet, doing extraordinary things.
Had my son believed himself permanently wheelchair-bound, he would be. He would not have sought to push beyond his limitations if he had recognised them as such. If we limit ourselves by believing we already have all we can hope for, how can we stretch beyond our limits? Why would we seek to?
It brings everything into question. But unless we press the limits, unless we stretch and expand them, unless we can accept at least the possibility that we may be wrong, or blinkered, or wrapped in our own habitual and familiar vision, we will never even see the prison bars we have constructed, let alone be able to break free of them. But if we can break free… anything is possible.
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
Anything is possible.
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing, Suzanne.
LikeLike
beautiful, wonderful, hopeful post. we must be our own advocates for what we know to be right and not limited by expectations and conventions. your family is living proof of that, sue.
LikeLike
Today is Nick’s birthday. It seemed a good idea to celebrate the fact that in spite of so many physical challenges, he has managed to shatter so many limitations.
LikeLiked by 2 people
perfect and with each birthday, you must feel a miracle has happened.
LikeLike
I’ll never stop being grateful he is still here to bug me, Beth 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your Nick is a wonderful role model, Sue. Proof positive of all you can achieve with the right help and mindset. Truly wonderful you both are!
LikeLike
I think we can all use a bit of reminding that we can all work wonders and be extraordinary.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For some of us, Sue, the wonders can be far and few between…
LikeLike
I believe you inderestimate yourself, Jaye… I know for a fact how many new skills you have mastered over the past few years 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do appreciate how far we have come, Sue but it’s getting much harder now, what with all the tampering…
LikeLike
Well, you are stubborn enough that it has never stopped you before 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
And I don’t see it happening any time soon…
LikeLike
Me neither 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s nice to see Nick in all these photos. Always a good inspiration and testament to the human spirit’s ability to thrive past obstacles.
LikeLike
Nick is a constant reminder of what is possible 🙂
LikeLike
A great post, Sue, and do pass on my birthday wishes to Nick. Love the image of the dragon asleep in front of the fire and the armour turning rusty! The photos are a wonderful illustration of what can be possible if we keep our armour polished. Where is the last photo?
LikeLike
That last photo is perched on a rock above Holy Pushkar in Rajasthan… and if you can tour India solo and in a wheelchair, you can pretty much do anything 🙂
LikeLike
Your son is a constant source of wonder and inspiration. (K)
LikeLike
Just his presence in the world still is enough for that 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The strength our belief gives us is remarkable. You’re so right that we don’t look enough or believe enough.
LikeLike
We can usually achieve far more than we think we can…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sure we can. It’s mind over matter if we believe in it.
LikeLike
Indeed it is.
LikeLiked by 1 person
👍👍👍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Phew, Sue. This post brought tears to my eyes. Seeing Nick in that last picture really swelled the heart. And so many of those photos brought back memories of the posts that accompanied those adventures. A wonderful, positive message. Congrats!
LikeLike
Thanks, Diana… just choosing the photos brought home to me the ‘impossibility’ of what he has done… and the fact that it was not impossible at all 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
He’s certainly been more adventurous than I’ve been! It’s an awesome post.
LikeLike
I think, as he is stuck in his garden at present, it did him good to be reminded of that too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gardens are the best places to spend this time. That’s where I’m hanging out too. ❤
LikeLike
So amI…but in Nick’s garden 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy birthday to Nick! An inspiration to us all!
LikeLike
Thanks, Graeme 🙂
LikeLike
This is such a wonderful post, once again proving that attitude is everything. Happy Birthday to Nick. He is such an inspiration. I recall y great uncle being in a truck accident and being severely damaged at age 75. The doctors told him he would never walk again, at his age he would not be able to heal properly. He told them, “The hell I won’t.” (Think John Wayne) In six months he was walking and working on his farm. He lived another 15 years.
LikeLike
Sadly, Nick is unable to walk without handrails or a frame, and after ten years of trying, he accepts that. But he is not likely to let that stop him.
LikeLike
A beautiful message of hope and the benefits of resilience and determination, Sue.
LikeLike
Thanks, Robbie.
LikeLike
Wonderfully inspiring! Thanks for you message of hope, Sue. Blessings all around… ❤
LikeLike
Thank you, Bette… I’ve seen so many people surpass their own expectations…
LikeLike
Wonderful and inspiring to see Nick living not just a life but his life. Amazing. xx
LikeLike
If it hadn’t been for the current sutuation, he’d have been spending his birthday in Norway… xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Only on hold I am sure.. for a better time..xx
LikeLike
I hope so xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nick and the power of belief💜💜💜💜
LikeLike
🙂 ❤
LikeLike
Pingback: Anything is possible… | willowdot21
Kudos to Nick, for all that he has accomplished.
LikeLike
I hope he’ll go on to more, Ken… though at present the garden is teaching him calm and patience 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh thankyou, needed to read this today. Stay blest, today and always🌻
LikeLike
I’m glad my son’s story spoke to you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, so true! Nick has done amazing things and continues to inspire me to this day!
LikeLike
Seeing him every day, I see the results of his attitude in so many smallthngs that he does that should not be possible.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gosh, he is so fit and sportive. Anything is possible, you only need the will, and a lot of fitness too. I am feeling soooooo old. ,-) Maybe i should not only come for a course, i could need some fitness too. Best wishes to you all, Michael
LikeLike
We’d love to have you here, Michael. Maybe Nick would let you use his gym 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Sue! Sounds wonderful. Have a beautiful weekend, and stay save. Michael
LikeLike
You too, Michael.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Sue! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a blessing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed he is 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Through your blog, I have seen Nick make great strides. He is an amazing young man and truly determined. It takes a certain kind of determination to make the progress he has, and I’m always amazed. You and Nick stay well. Hugs. ❤️❤️❤️
LikeLike
Thanks, Michelle. He is stubborn, no idea where he gets that from 😉 xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
I understand. My sons remind me they are just a chip off the old block. xx
LikeLike
Mine just say ‘genetics’ and refuse responsibility 😉 xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is funny. Sons are the same everywhere! Love and hugs. ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
They do seem to be 😉 hugs, Michelle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This gives hope and determination a whole new meaning! He is a role model for others, and surely inherited your strength. 🙂
LikeLike
A little hope seemed appropriate at the moment…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed it does!
LikeLiked by 1 person