All Kinds of Good People

One of the things that's challenging for with a brain injury is to stay updated about current events and issues.  It is difficult for me to retain what I read and then connect it to something for it to make sense and remember it.  I can read articles about local college football players and games and I can identify specific plays. I have attended games at the stadium, I have watched games on TV, talked to other people about it.  All of these things make it easier for me to connect and retain the info. However, current events or issues are much more difficult for me to understand and apply unless I can connect it to something familiar to me.

Upon the brain injury diagnosis at 21, I developed a desire to watch what other people said and did and to learn from their examples to try to fill in gaps in my own development that had been halted by the injury. I wanted to soak in as much as I possibly could.  Many years later when social media was and is prevalent  I would see many people sharing articles, information, opinions, etc. about current local and world issues.  I have great respect for those who are able and willing to share information and opinions like that. I saw and still see them as being willing to share and stand up for their beliefs and do good in the world.

However, it was sometimes difficult for me that I did share information and opinions like that and do good in the world. (Let me be clear, my perception of actions and self did not come from anything or anyone that was said or unsaid. Sometimes our brains, especially mine, does not always understand something and so our brains will try to make sense of it but it's not always accurate). I struggled at times with wondering if I was a "good person" because I did not go the route of current and politically informed and it seemed like such an important thing to do. I hesitated about posting things like having fun at the water park or new hairstyles I'd found because was that silly when there were much bigger problems going on in the world?

However, one day I realized that the world needs all kinds of good people and it brings peace to accept and embrace that. Pictures of latest hairstyles will not change the world but sometimes we need to see or look at things that don't require a lot of brain power. A picture about a game I played with my nieces could give someone an idea for what to do with their kids. Sharing a beloved scripture could help someone else find peace on a hard day. Bottom line, there is not one definition for a good person and the world needs all kinds of good.  Also, in referencing the struggle I had about discovering to define myself as a good person; I would not trade any of the struggles I've had in my life as that would mean giving up lessons I have learned.

Comments? Questions? Please read and share if you can!