Please read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 and Part 7 for context. Thank you my friend.
In closing this series let me share with you several of my favorite quotes.
The messages found with in these quotes have given me strong encouragement — as they remind me to follow hope.
May you also be encouraged to follow hope.
Because our circumstances are not meant to keep us down, but they are meant to build us up!
“If you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams and endeavor to live the life that you have imagined…you will meet with success unexpected in common hours” Henry David Thoreau
“Insist on yourself, never imitate. Your own gift, you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another, you have only an extemporaneous half-possession…Do that which is assigned to you, and you can not hope too much or dare too much.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Elexia Chasin says
Thank-you, for giving me back my hope & inspiration, for working towards walking & living on my own, again!!! Everyday, I pray that I will get back to an attractive young woman, again!!! I realize now, that I can through hope & prayer, to get better. The only problem is, it’s been a way too long, 11 years. So, Thanks again!!!
secondchancetolive says
Hello Elexia,
Thank you so very much for taking the time to write to me. I am honored by your kindness Elexia. Can I please share several truths that I have learned through my process? I have written several articles that I would like to share with you. I will include links to those articles below Elexia. Just click on the link and your will be taken to the articles.
Let me also encourage you with my experience. I realize that the journey can be long, but the process is right on time. For many years I found that all my hard work appeared to be for naught. You may read about my journey in my 3 part article, My Journey thus Far. Here is the link to that article:
https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/02/18/my-journey-thus-far/ Elexia.
Through my process, I came to realize that I needed to learn what I did through all of my disappointments. Elexia, I have written a 6 part series in which I share some of what I learned thought my process Elexia. Traumatic Brain Injury — I began to heal when… https://secondchancetolive.org/2009/10/19/traumatic-brain-injury-i-began-to-heal-when-part-1/
I also needed to consider something. I wrote an article on this matter. Whose Shame are you Carrying? Here is the link to that article Elexia. https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/05/25/whose-shame-are-you-carrying/
Below are the articles that I referred to in the beginning of the email above.
Small Successes https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/02/13/small-sucesses/
Flight of the Butterfly https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/03/02/flight-of-the-butterfly/
The Power of Identification https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/04/18/the-power-of-identification/
Traumatic Brain Injury — Following your bliss…regardless https://secondchancetolive.org/2008/06/12/traumatic-brain-injury-following-your-bliss%E2%80%A6regardless/
Brain Injury, Self-Esteem, Self-respect and Significance https://secondchancetolive.org/2009/02/03/brain-injury-self-esteem-self-respect-and-significance/
I hope the articles prove to give you comfort, encouragement and hope in your process Elexia. Please do not give up on your process, yourself or on a loving God. More will be revealed — in time.
If you have questions, please feel free to ask. All questions are good questions.
I will say so long for now. Have a pleasant evening and God bless both you and your family Elexia.
Craig
Craig J. Phillips MRC, BA
Second Chance to Live
https://secondchancetolive.org/
Our circumstances are not meant to keep us down, but they are meant to build us up!
Richard Johnson says
Hello Craig. Your “web page” is quite a lot to process. As a 6 1/2 year survivor, I have lived though probably all your mentioned. How we were before our injury is very important for sure as our past life determines how we were on that fateful day, but watching friends, family, and the world in general, living a “normal” fast paced life is not easy to take. Maybe I’m as healed as I can be (90 – 95% of the old me?), but that doesn’t mean that my recovery is complete and I’m pretty sure it’s not. Why don’t I think my recovery is complete? Because learning how to live and breath as a survivor is only done when we are able to believe in ourselves. Alienation, isolation and confusion comes in all types and sizes, so thanks for telling others that being alone is not a life of pain.
As a advocate for TBI survivors, my main concern is to help people believe in themselves, so please continue to write/post/speak to allow other survivors to recover and heal.
secondchancetolive says
Hi Richard,
I hope you are doing well today. Thank you for taking the time to write to me. I am honored by your kindness Richard. I agree with you my friend. Because of the nature of our invisible disabilities we can find ourselves side tracked if we compare ourselves to the fast pace of society. I have written an article addressing the topic of identification and comparison. If you have not read the article, I would encourage you to do so my friend. You may find yourself being encouraged as you read the article. Here is the link to the article — The Power of Identification https://secondchancetolive.org/my-focus/
I have also written several other articles that you may find to be helpful Sir. As a man who has lived with an invisible disability I have experienced a wide berth of emotions. Read these articles and let me know if you can identify with me Richard. Thank you.
From what you share with me in the your email you are doing what you can. In my experience, that is all any one of us can do my friend — and that is good enough.
Have a pleasant day and God bless you and your family Richard.
Craig
Here is the list and links to those articles Richard. I hope that you stay in touch with me.
Traumatic Brain Injury and Denial — My Perspective as a TBI Survivor https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/05/12/traumatic-brain-injury-and-denial-my-perspective-as-a-tbi-survivor/
https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/02/18/my-journey-thus-far/ 3 part series
https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/08/14/my-struggle-living-with-an-invisible-disability/ 4 part series
https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/08/21/having-an-invisible-disability-%e2%80%93-the-consequence-of-denying-my-reality%e2%80%94part-1/ 2 part series
https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/08/28/traumatic-brain-injury-and-the-double-bind/
https://secondchancetolive.org/2007/05/24/don%e2%80%99t-talk-don%e2%80%99t-trust-and-don%e2%80%99t-feel/
https://secondchancetolive.org/2008/04/12/traumatic-brain-injury-and-the-square-peg/
Traumatic Brain Injury and Following your bliss…regardless https://secondchancetolive.org/2008/06/12/traumatic-brain-injury-following-your-bliss%E2%80%A6regardless/
Traumatic Brain Injury / Acquired Brain Injury — Meaning and Purpose https://secondchancetolive.org/2008/06/24/traumatic-acquired-brain-injury-%E2%80%93-meaning-and-purpose/
Brain Injury, Self-Esteem, Self-Respect and Significance https://secondchancetolive.org/2009/02/03/brain-injury-self-esteem-self-respect-and-significance/
Craig J. Phillips MRC, BA
Second Chance to Live
https://secondchancetolive.org/
Our circumstances are not meant to keep us down, but to build us up!