The flip flop of my mental condition and physical condition has been interesting.  Sometime after my diagnosis, one year and four months ago, I remember walking to the car in complete despair.  I was getting my glasses fixed from damage due to a fall. I was of the mindset of ‘why am I bothering, why am I wasting the money?  All is lost and life is over now’.  It strikes me now as a funny juxtaposition.  I was walking to the car at full speed, able to grab my mountain bike and shred some trails at still near expert level,   had I wanted to.

Now, I can’t walk at all.  Without my electric wheelchair, or someone to carry me, I’m not going anywhere.  And yet,   I now don’t feel like all is lost, or life is over.  How incredible is the human ability to adapt.  When I heard of situations of war and other atrocities, I used to wonder how people could possibly endure.  This gives me a small glimpse.  That being said, let’s not go to war, and don’t get ALS.  Coping or not, a regular good life definitely has advantages.

Life is so full of contradictory ideas and sayings.  “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover” and “If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck” is just one example.  Live in the moment is so often heard from people giving motivational advice.  However, living for the future, self control and self denial are major factors for success.  They both have their place, and everything in moderation.