“Parky and Me”
You’re probably wondering why I have named my Parkinsons Disease [PD] “Parky” (hence the name of my blog “Parky and Me”). Well, there are actually lots of good reasons for this – but I will share with you two of them for now – one from Psychology and from the wisdom of the Torah…
As I learned from my amazing trainer and life coach Charles, battling with my Parkinson’s is truly a mind game. There are two main choices for someone who wants to succeed in life with PD. …either you have PD or PD has you. In psychology they teach that one way to control one’s fears is to name them – and especially if it’s a funny name. If you call your PD “Parky” it doesn’t seem so scary anymore.
On a more serious note, one of the main aspects of being a Torah-observant Jew is to live with Bitachon, trust in Hashem. When something “bad” (like PD or other yesurin and suffering) happens, a Torah Jew says Gam Zoo L’Tovah, “this too is for the good”. This is a high level of faith, and not always easy to say and internalize … yet it is part of what it means to be a Jew. Truth be told, there is an even higher level of Bitachon that one can aspire to when bad things happen. We are taught in the Talmud in Bava Metzia 84b that the great and holy Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon would actually welcome his yesurin and trials and tribulations every night when they came. He would say “Welcome brothers and friends!” So, too, am I following Rabbi Elazar’s lead and calling my PD “Parky” as if it were my best friend. Of course we have to ask ourselves what’s so wonderful about PD that we should even want to welcome it or call it “my friend”. The truth is that PD is the best friend you’ll ever have!
Stay tuned for the next installment of Parky and Me to find out why …
