Monday Motivation – Visions Of Our Destination

Musical Motivation Monday – by Heather Stewart
 

“You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead – your next stop, the Twilight Zone!”

– Rod Serling

 

I spent most of the week pondering what to write about. What on Earth could I put on paper to keep our AS-tronauts motivated? What are our visions of our destination?

As luck would have it a saw a book about “local boy” Rod Serling and I started thinking about Twilight Zone. Here we are, embarking on this long virtual journey from the Moon to Mars – if that isn’t a journey of the imagination, what is?

Twilight Zone used science fiction, drama and suspense, to address issues facing the world. It provided lessons in the guise of alternate reality. So, imagine if you will, what it will be like as we grow closer and closer to Mars…

Spondylitis in its many forms will be as well known as Diabetes, MS, Heart Disease or Cancer. Researchers will have greater access to funding. Diagnoses will take less and less time. Treatments will be more advanced. Greater understanding of the various associated medical issues that can come with it (Iritis, Uveitis, other autoimmune diseases). Public recognition of how debilitating it is and how it can seem invisible, especially when those of us with it try to utilize cloaking shields. That is what it looks like to me. I hear less creaks, snaps and popping of joints. More laughter, less tears and sighs of relief are the sounds I imagine as we draw closer light year by light year. Minds are less plagued by the fear, isolation and depression that goes hand in hand with chronic illness.

That is the alternate reality I see as I talk about Ankylosing Spondylitis and count my steps each day. Think about it, think about what it means as you take each step. What does it mean to tell the next person you see about Spondylitis? When you see that signpost that proclaims “Your next stop, Mars”, what do you imagine will come next?

I encourage you to share your thoughts with those on the journey with you as well as those you are informing. We are always promoting awareness but I find we rarely share what we envision the outcome of that awareness to be. Remember this is a journey and though there may be adjustments along the way, we need to know what we hope to find at our destination.