This is just the beginning
May 2nd, 2005 by theaddisonrantAfter going out for a quick bite to eat I came home to find my TiVo had recorded the HBO Film "Warm Springs," a dramatic rendering of FDR’s time just before he suffered the effects of Polio and how it nearly destroyed his world. Roosevelt had it all. Cousin to Teddy, married to Eleanor, sleeping with a mistress, he was set. Then polio happened and he was left searching for hope in a world that shunned those with a handicap. Throughout the movie FDR attempts to settle into his world of pity, trying to accept the fact that his political life is over, his personal life will never be what it was, and he future is hopeless. But each time he is left seeing how much more he has been given compared to others. How he has so much to offer though he may not have the full use of his legs. He is given hope by the most intriguing of characters and, as we all know, FDR went on to run and win election as President of the United States for not 1, not 2, but 3 terms. After watching this tale, and balling my eyes out at multiple points throughout, I realized that my pity party was a pathetic attempt at solace. What do I have to be pitied for? I have my health. I have a family that loves me. I have friends across the world that I can always turn to. I have money. I have an education that continues on. I have so much, so many blessings. So this morning I’ve made a promise to myself to try and see the good and the hope in my life. To stop looking at the half empty part of the glass and instead turn upside down on my head to see the half full. I know this total change in perspective will not be easy. I know there will be days when I want to curl up in a ball and wish myself into oblivion. But starting today I will do my best to make sure I have fewer and fewer of those days in the future. Life is too short and I have been given a free pass for these first 25 or so years. Time for me to earn my keep, to make a difference in the world, and to stop feeling sorry for myself.
