I recently smiled as I walked into a conference room the night before speaking there at a convention. That is best for me—knowing the environment early, rehearsing my way to the rooms, practicing the travel time, adjusting to the atmosphere.
Standing near the stage, I glanced toward the side. These four red letters trapped in a rectangle spelled one word that is common to most of us: EXIT.
I smiled.
The next day I would be speaking to people who knew about hurt—some who have lived their underwater battle always seeking an escape. Their busyness or denial or addictions or obsessions or depressions are all related—they seek an exit.
One of the talks the following day would be about suicide and the unexpected deaths of those living with epilepsy. I would follow that with a story of hope. Now I knew how to place a bridge between the talks.
We could all glance at the four letters we think and feel and consider: EXIT. But we can also smile as we choose to stay in the water, to stay the course, to stay in the voyage.
Desires to depart must not control us.A future of hope and help and ambition can motivate us to exit our escape tendencies and endure our adventure.
A future of hope and help and ambition can motivate us to exit our escape tendencies and endure our adventure.
This blog is from Chris’ book Underwater. You can purchase the brand new audiobook version of Underwater: When Encephalitis, Brain Injury and Epilepsy Change Everything (Unabridged) from Amazon or iTunes.
