This is from a person in support group I belong to and I thought it worth passing along.

[MBAnderson]

Dear Friends,

Yes...actually, it's all about PEACE !

When the greeting (Merry Christmas) was originally used, the word ‘merry’ did not mean ‘joyful, hilarious,’ as it does today. In those days, it meant ‘blessed, peaceful, pleasant,’ expressing spiritual joys rather than earthly happiness.

The well-known carol ‘God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen’ is an excellent example of the original meaning of ‘merry.’ The position of the comma shows the true meaning (the word is not an adjective describing ‘gentlemen’) and therefore is not ‘God rest you, joyful gentlemen,’ but ‘God rest you peacefully, gentlemen.’”

In the spirit of this Christmas/Holiday Season…

• Give time: Remember an old friend. Share a meal with someone lonely.

• Give hope: Live joyfully. Raise the spirits of a child or a friend needing encouragement.

• Give peace: Forgive an enemy. Set differences aside.

• Give of yourself: Perform acts of kindness.

• Give love - And the spirit of Christmas and Hanukkah will be forever!

As we celebrate the Holiday season and rededicate ourselves to Living Well with Parkinson's, let this time of hope, joy, and peace remind us of our own resilience!

SO... WHAT IS RESILIENCE

The Oxford Dictionary defines resilience as "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness" and "the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity".

Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

Parkinson's continually tests your resilience: how will you respond to new situations and trials? Will you adapt to these changes and go with the flow or will you fight to swim upstream?

A number of factors contribute to how well people adapt to adversities, predominant among them:

the ways in which individuals view and engage with the world

the availability and quality of social resources

specific coping strategies

Psychological research demonstrates that the resources and skills associated with more positive adaptation (i.e., greater resilience) can be cultivated and practiced.

Your commitment to support groups demonstrates your resilience: you are accepting change and learning to deal with it. Social support is part of resilience and support groups provide you with coping skills and connections.

Keep in mind Dr. Laurie Mischley says loneliness is the biggest predicter of progression.

[Smittybear7]

Thanks for sharing. Can you send this to my email?

[MBAnderson in reply to Smittybear7]

Be glad to. Send me your email address via private message.

Or just copy and paste it.

[Bolt_Upright]

Blessed, peaceful and pleasant Christmas Marc.

[dcpambrose]

Merry Christmas!

[chartist]

Marc,

Two questions, are resilient people in the majority or minority ? How does a non resilient person become a resilient person?

Art

[MBAnderson in reply to chartist]

I think that resilient people are the majority, albeit by a narrow margin.

You strike me as a plenty resilient person. Positive attitude & positive coping skills, always looking for solutions, perseverant, belief in yourself, socially engaged, competent, etc.

Who are you asking on behalf of?

[chartist in reply to MBAnderson]

I was asking on behalf of myself and many others. Contrary to your very kind words, I do not consider myself resilient and I have met many people who do not consider themselves resilient or do not appear to be resilient, but I have also met many people who are resilient or appear to be resilient. In seniors, I consider that this trait is no longer alterable, but that is just my opinion. Perhaps resilience is something that some people never realize until they are presented with truly challenging circumstances all at once?

Art

[MBAnderson in reply to chartist]

I hope you don't mind if I consider you resilient?

[chartist in reply to MBAnderson]

Not at all, Marc.

Art

[Gioc in reply to chartist]

Considering your immortal soul, I would say much higher than resilient…

Merry Christmas Art!💫

[chartist in reply to Gioc]

Hi Gio,

Thank You!

Merry Christmas to you and the rest of the forum members! 🎅🎄🎅

Art

[Gioc]

Very nice and appropriate Marc, Thank you .

May the Spirit of Christmas which is also spiritual rebirth always be with us all.

Merry Christmas to you Marc.

💫

Alberi di Natale

[dvoranel]

Beautiful. Thank you so much Marc. May your holiday be Merry and sweet and may we all be ever more resilient in the New Year.

[jimcaster]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family, Marc!

[MBAnderson in reply to jimcaster]

To yours too, Jim

[Hidden]

Thank you for this lovely post, it’s given me something to work with. At the moment I’m uncharacteristically angry. Anger of course, is fear of not being in control. Perhaps I can transform this into resilience. Merry Xmas!

[Parousie]

Merci vraiment pour ce beau message de Noël, plein de bienveillance et d'espoir. Joyeux Noël à tous !

[ddmagee1]

Resilience is so important, when one deals with PD! Loneliness is contradictory to improving one’s dealing with this disorder! In regards to giving, during this Holiday Season, my thoughts are, and have been for many years, it is more of a Blessing to give, than to receive! My Aunt taught me that, by setting the example of being a giving person, over 60 years ago!

[SGlass]

God rest you peacefully, Fellow Parkies! Thank You All for what You share….

[LindaP50]

Enjoyed this - thank you.

My husband was born on Christmas Day - he's oh so special.

Merry Christmas.

[PalmSprings]

Thank you for this gift this morning. Reminders and encouraging words on better practices in behaviour are so needed. Cheers and be Merry!

[alaynedellow]

thank you for the encouraging words. Merry xmaa to us all n peace to all