Memory & The Present

Thank you so much for choosing to follow my blog!

I'm very grateful to everyone who has become a follower, and to those who have left comments on my posts.

I also want to thank Jessica (a.k.a. Jallowa23) and Sonja (a.k.a. eipysgudps) for supporting this blog, and mentioning this project on their YouTube channels. You both have brought many new readers to heartfulmindmindfulheart, and you have helped to inspire people to think and act in a new way. I appreciate all that you've done and all that you continue to do to help me in my quest.

Today, I was remembering a time in my life when I felt as if things were perfect, and that they'd be like that forever. As children we often think that life is one dimensional because we're shielded from so much.

I remember when I knew nothing of disease, hunger, illiteracy, pain, genocide, natural disasters, etc. Things appeared simple, and I thought everyone was healthy and happy.

This idea was destroyed when I found out that my grandmother had been living with Lupus for years. The disease had surfaced long before I was born, and, for much of my early life, my family had not told me about it.

I remember my grandmother had trouble with sore joints and she felt weak often times. She would always try to brush her pain aside, and she tried not to acknowledge it when I was around. I never thought she was ill.

When I was 5 or 6, my family explained to me that my grandmother had Lupus. They explained that she was sore and tired because she was "sick." No one really knew much about the disease, and my grandmother could not necessarily predict when she'd have a flare up.

This really tore at me.

I realized that if this could happen to MY grandmother, it could happen to anyone's grandmother. After a while, I started looking for signs and symptoms of illness in almost everyone. It soon became clear that everyone had the potential to be affected by some illness or other affliction.

I'd later realize that people could also be affected by social, economic, and environmental issues. All of these realizations stemmed from the initial discovery that my grandmother had Lupus.

It's amazing how one idea can spawn so many more.

This is part of why it was so important for me to create this blog. This blog will not be related to one sole issue because all issues--everything--is interconnected.

This is something I learned long ago, but it's truth deeply resonates today.

Thank you for taking the time to explore my blog!

Please feel free to comment and follow if you'd like. I'm looking forward to updating this page in the near future. I will be featuring a new cause soon!

Love.