Today is one of those glorious fall days full of sunshine and wind-tossed leaves.  The sky is blue and clean and the sun invites me outside.  Leaves are on the ground everywhere in abundance following the bluster and downpour of previous days.  Brittle and crunchy underfoot and fading in the final days of their autumn brilliance the colors of fall will soon be another memory.

In some ways life hasn’t changed much since I learned I have MS.  Although my physical abilities are at times challenged, my perspective on my life is perhaps the most notably different.  It is more important to me now to be a part of the world around me and not just go through the motions of doing.  The touch points are more significant; the places and people that intersect the trajectory that I find myself on.  It has become very important to me to be open and present and let go of much of what I think “should be.”  

Incredibly, the sense of loss I sometimes experience pales when I really stop to consider the treasures that I discover surrounding me.  If I step away from the self imposed seclusion that disappointment breeds, I see that my needs are rather few after all.