Learnings

  Fear has kept me safe on many occasions. Whether it is waiting for the walk signal at a crosswalk or even resisting the urge to load more plates on the barbell, fear of physical harm and self-preservation have served me well. But what happens when fear precipitates self-destructive behavior, blocks the acceptance of grace, or simply tempers joy? And perhaps even more problematic: what if the fear is imagined or of harm to the ego?

The 2025 edition marked BIANH’s 41st gathering focused on “Brain injury and stroke support, prevention, education, and advocacy for survivors and caregivers.”

I know, it’s awful early on a Monday morning to be dropping emotion-state describing terms from the field of Psychology. But oh well, “I just can’t shake this feeling” (unintentionally stealing the lyrics from countless songs over the years)!

What would having healthy gratitude mean for the way I’d live my life and what the heck do I mean by “Cautiously Grateful?”

I’ll admit it, I tend to overthink things which I suppose is ironic considering the brain injury. Speaking of that, here’s an totally unrelated memory that just was triggered: It was probably 4 or 5 years ago when I was speaking about living with a brain injury to a bunch of 1st and 2nd graders. With complete innocence, a young boy in the first row whose arm shot up so fast he could barely remain seated asked, “If you have a brain injury, can you still think?” You have to love the curiosity and honesty of a 7 year old! Anyways, now back to The Winter Blues…

But back to The Road to Gratitude… Not that long ago I wrote in “It’s the Journey” about another road: “The Road of Happy Destiny”. The word road sure does seem to be popping up a lot? That post examined how it was a road “of” rather than “to” happy destiny that we trudge in recovery. This seemingly minor and semantical difference in word choice reminds me that it is in fact the journey, not the destination, where the experience of living occurs highlighting the importance of enjoying each moment.