Involuntary Simple Living
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A friend of mine recently sent me selections from a blog written by a woman she knows. I went to the blog and was really blown away. Carla is under 50 and she is dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS. She writes,
So, here I am, in a wheelchair, unable to do anything other than talk (with a short of breath slur that makes people ask me to repeat myself a lot), think (which I do so well I can’t get to sleep), listen (which I love except when listening to somebody stupid enough to be stupid but not stupid enough to mock), and love (a renewable resource that grows exponentially as my ability to do everything else diminishes).
I bolded that bit as it surprised and moved me. I read on and on. Later, she says:
The things we value are only things. I look at my world and I look back at my life and it’s not the shows or the CDs or the degrees or even the fabulous shoes that matter. It’s you. And You. And You. And all of the people who have been my teachers, my friends, my accomplices and my family.
The blog is very funny in places, and and if you are a conventional person, it may be a bit strong for you at times. It’s at http://carlamuses.blogspot.com/
I’ve been mulling over her situation and it seems to me that she’s living an extreme (and unasked-for) example of a simple life, and she’s showing us “lifers” (as she calls the rest of us) what really matters. Thanks, Carla, I’m sure you’d rather be doing something else, but I hear you.
ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Ever heard of it? Know anything about it? Carla has discovered that people really know very little about it and she is making it her mission to educate us. One way she did that was by making a calendar she’s selling at https://alwayslookingsexy2010.alscommunity.org/GroupSite/tabid/54/albumid/278/view/ViewAlbum/Default.aspx
And you can find out about the disease at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Gehrig%27s_Disease
This story is a good reminder that “voluntary simplicity” is not a forced simplicity, but a lifestyle that many have the privilege of pursuing. Thanks for posting this article.