Momentum - Summer 2013

Momentum
Making your life with MS a work of art

People have an astonishing number of ways to cope with the hand that life deals them. Often, when someone is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, they’ll find new meaning in well-loved hobbies and activities. As you’ve read in this issue of Momentum, people who have relied on music, painting, poetry or some other art form throughout their lives have found it instrumental in facing the challenges of MS. That’s true of Tom, a fabulous artist I know who became quadriplegic as a result of MS and couldn’t paint for some time.

Like anything else,
you won't know if
you enjoy creating
or appreciating
art unless you try it.

Through technology, though, he learned to resume his passion. He told me that it was a miracle— that it opened up his life again.

I’ve known many others who
didn’t feel creative before their
MS diagnosis, but turned to
journaling afterward, and it
helped them feel better. That’s
not surprising to me. One of
the things we know from our
collaboration with Shawn Achor
in the Everyday Matters initiative
is that journaling gives people a
happiness advantage. Just like the
visual and performance arts, it’s a
way to express yourself, and that’s
a uniquely human need. It’s what
makes us individual. And it can
help you feel powerful around MS.

does something, but everyone participates by laughing, cheering or groaning.

Like anything else, though, you won’t know if you enjoy creating or appreciating art unless you try it. You might find something that resonates with you; or like Tom, you may have to work through a new reality to be able to express yourself. There are so many ways to participate. Art is everywhere—it’s at museums and parks, in public libraries and private kitchens. There are opportunities to try something out through a community program or by asking others to share their talents with you. And if accessibility issues are what’s stopping you, contact the National MS Society for support to try and figure it out. We’re here to help you discover—or rediscover—your most powerful, engaged life. ■