Selma Blair, an American actress who played in Legally Blonde and Scream, was diagnosed with relapsing Multiple Sclerosis in 2018. It affected every aspect of her life. When she had the strength to walk, she had to use a cane. She also had a Service Dog named Scout, that helped her function and navigate.
Recently, her symptoms have vastly improved. I’m not certain what treatment she is on, but she’s improved to the point where she is about to start acting again.
She stated while battling MS, she didn’t spend any time thinking about her dreams. Now that her symptoms have improved, she realized she needed to begin refocusing on her dreams again. She still intends to advocate for people with chronic illnesses, but she realizes she also needs to give herself a new life focus. Instead of focusing so much on MS, she intends to focus on her dreams.
What a blessing for Selma Blair to reach a point where she can do this. Yes, her symptoms improved, but did they improve because of treatment or because of her new outlook on life. I’m not privy to what treatments she’s had or is still having, so I don’t know the answer to that question. All I know is when you decide to no longer allow a chronic illness to control your life, life seems to improve.
For those of us with Myasthenia Gravis, we suffer many of the challenges someone with MS faces, not all of them, but some of them. Those two chronic conditions have their differences, but the mental aspect is probably very similar. When your body isn’t able to do what your mind is telling it to do, it’s extremely challenging and it can become a heavy mental weight to bear. The mental part can often make things worse. That’s why we have to stay positive and choose to fight our illness.
I’m not saying a positive attitude will cure you. I’m saying a positive attitude can give you the strength to look beyond your challenges. It can help you focus on the things in life you still want to accomplish and help you accomplish them.
Selma Blair could have given up, and who would blame her, but she didn’t. She made herself push on through the MS, she challenged her mind to stay strong and battle, she forced herself to start dreaming again.
Maybe we should learn a lesson from Selma Blair. It’s not too late to have dreams. Dreams inspire us and give us hope. We then only need to convince ourselves to go after them.
Travel, write, help others, become an advocate. Whatever is in your heart, go for it. Make your dreams become a reality and watch what a difference it makes in your life.