Craig Sicilia founder BIR

So here we are on the verge of enlightenment, our worlds are crashing but our cause is big, there are so many people who have lost their way.  They got hit on the head, and they don’t know if their coming or going.  Leaders emerge across the county with such greatness inside of each of them.  For some reason they don’t see eye to eye and pride gets knocked around.  I know mine has been knocked and I have knocked, things happen so fast the next thing you know you have pissed someone off.  Not to hard to do with a brain injury. As we label one another, we need to remember the cause, with out our voice being as loud as it can be no one will hear, I am not even sure if all of us millions stood on a mountain top anyone would listen.  ARE YOU IN

One of the hard truths with brain injury, especially from those who once knew us, they still see the old person and in many cases refuse to even concider this new creature that is developing behind the eyes of what they believe to be true so anything else is a lie.  Or those folks who say "I tell you what by looking at you I would never know anything is wrong with you." Got to love that one too...  But the hardest reality is of us as we look into the miror and expect to see who we were and try to recognize and understand who we have become.  As I meet people all over the world I begin to realize how lucky I am, though I was stuck for years inside of someone else I eventually broke free, I became unstuck, And so many folks never had the oppurtunity or chance to free their oldself from their new being and and spend decades or a life time stuck in the shadows of who they once were, never discovering or living to the potential of this wonderful new person.

A New Me Here we come into a new spring, each year we see improvement in ourselves as well as our supports, it can be a really tough road as we re discover this new person, we are like a catapilar and we are going to turn into something more beautiful than a butterfly we are going to be come this new person ready to take on this new life ready for all things possible.  Lets share how and what we have or are going to do to create the best life we can imagine, with work it can be better than our old self, it is up to us, and sometimes we just need a little love and help.

I can remember just 5 years ago when I had my brain injury there was nothing out there, no groups, no opportunities, no peer websites lots of lawyers and medical but no real support just services that fell very short of being successful. Now there are dozens and dozens if not hundreds and hundreds of people doing some great stuff, I hope to have some of the advocates out there who are getting voices together, lets see if we can get them all talking coming up with something bigger. Should be a good show with as much diversity as we have in our communities.

With Brain Injury so many things are forgotten, weather it be some of the tasks that we once could do well to the reason we got up off the couch and walked to the fridge as we stand there asking ourselves now why did I come here staring blankly at everything on the shelves, to our friends, careers and many, many other things, from the simplest enjoyment from the things that once interested us to the very essence of who we are, so much to share on this topic not even sure where to begin. Lets share our journeys and experiences with the world, bettering the lives of those affected by brain injury

After my last show going silent for 6 minutes serves as a reminder of some of the deficits I now have, things that I used to be so good at now I struggle just to maintain, but the harsh reality is I still fall so short. I have to tell you it makes me feel less than a person, I get so down on myself that I make things worse, I find myself trying to pick back my confidence and self worth. And there are those who are right there to remind us constantly our short comings, and what we need is to focus on i what we can do and what we have to contribute. This episode lets focus on how we remind ourselves our own greatness and what we have to offer is valuable and the tricks we use to get out of the negative spaces

MLK set the way for so many of us trying to achieve civil equality, after a disability such as brain injuries our rights and participation in our own lives is taken away or sometimes abandoned in the confusion. People begin to believe we do not matter as much as we once did because of our disability, but it is that very disability that makes us who we now are. As we become strong as a community we can begin to strive for equality learning from others. To this day there is no standard of care from state to state or city to city for that matter. We are tossed into a system that’s backlogged up to 6 months or more. Meanwhile most often we are drugged up until they can deal with us. The path of destruction that the delayed treatment causes in the lives of those affected by Brain Injury is usually non-reparable and takes the very lives and souls of those surviving for years and sometimes a life time.

So here we are in a new year, so much change is needed to my life to make it a happier place for myself. Where to begin what things do I need to improve on, and what things do I need to change in my environment, my friends, my work and my community. So much needs to happen, where do we begin. Lets get the ideas out there let us change our tomorrow into something we can want. As overwhelming as it can be to have to change everything, it can be done. It has been done and people have reached their full potential and found satisfying lives once again.

After a brain injury many times we lose what once was, and we can be left living a life that seems meaningless. Life is meant to be lived with purpose and passion. Often we need to find or reinvent purpose in our live. It is not an easy journey in the face of so much loss. But like it or not it becomes a time to rebuild. It’s a time to reestablish our lives, to learn to love and appreciate this new person we have become. I believe if we let it we can find a greater purpose that before, one with passion and meaning. What makes things interesting at least for me the thing I once valued or believed look very much different to this new me. I have to be honest there are times I just want to give up, and pity myself and ponder on the losses. But as a post a fellow advocate once posted, “Joe Martin” made me think one day it could be worse. So as I move forward I know I don’t want it to be worse but I could possible make it that way. So lets share how we find purpose and embrace what we can do rather than what we can’t, because face it many people can’t do things. But we need to focus on what we can not what we used to be able to do but what we can. And as we accept the purpose based on what we can do, all the amazing and wonderful things that are possible.

As the holidays approach this becomes a very difficult time for many of us. Weather we are dealing with this new self and trying to embrace and discover who the heck we are. Or we are remembering who we once were, the feeling that we no longer belong in this life that we are living. For many of us we remember the things we once valued and how that change has affected our lives. How in the world did we get here but more importantly how and the world do we get out. We need to be heard and appreciate who we now are, or are becoming. We are not alone there are many of us. But how can we turn that into purpose and a sense of belonging again.