OPERATION S.E.E

SUPPORT,ENCOURAGEMENT AND EMPOWERMENT S.E.E
World AIDS Day offers us the opportunity to unite to encourage our human brothers and sisters PLWHV, People Living With HIV/AIDS, to deal with the day-to-day reality of dealing with this disease.

It is time for each of us to S.E.E. to see those affected by HIV/AIDS in a different light. It is never too late to give up our prejudice and open to a new compassionate vision. We must remember that letting go of preconceived notions unlocks the door to wisdom and understanding. Rather than spending our time judging others, let us open our hearts with love.

Please join me by sharing the following message of Support, Encouragement and Empowerment to anyone you know who lives with HIV/AIDS or any other debilitating condition.

Here are ways to maximize your life experience, no matter what your current health status may be.

1. Define yourself. Others may try to label you. Do not accept their judgments. Recognize that people around you may be afraid. If they are, they will project their fear onto you. They may stigmatize you and even run from you, because they do not understand. Remind yourself that this is not personal. It is their issue. It is up to you, me and us to end the prejudice. You are not your disease. You are a human with a health condition. You are a person of inestimable worth, here for a purpose.

2. Treat yourself with compassion. It takes time to deal with the news of having a life-threatening disease. Allow yourself to feel what you feel the whole range of emotions that arise. No matter how overwhelmed you may be when you first get your diagnosis, you can regain hope. You can go on.

3. Be proactive. Empower yourself. Get educated. Understand your illness. Keep abreast of the latest medical advances. Refuse to be helpless or hopeless. Do not wait for others to take care of your problems for you. Be courageous. Long-term survivors tend to be assertive. Seek and accept the help you need. Say “no” when the situation calls for it. Make decisions based on what you believe is best for you.

4. Focus on life. Live to the fullest with your condition rather than waiting to die from it. Refuse to give up. No matter your diagnosis, life can intervene in surprising ways. Being HIV positive does not disqualify you from your dreams and passions. Arthur Ashe, the first back Wimbledon winner, contracted AIDS through a transfusion of contaminated blood in 1988. Ashe continued to live fully. He used his remaining years to raise $5 million dollars to benefit AIDS causes. Because of people like him, powerful medicines are available and work is being made toward a cure. Maintain your hope. The door to life as you knew it may no longer be open for you; however, life as you know it NOW presents you with new doors of opportunity. Open one.

5. Get connected. Seek help and support from others living with HIV and from those who understand it. When you feel lost in the darkness, dare to reach out your hand. There are people there who will pull you into the light.

6. Center yourself spiritually. Long-term survivors tend to feel that their lives, and sometimes even the disease itself, have purpose. Bernie Siegel, MD, counsels patients that, “Getting well is not the only goal. Even more important is learning to live without fear, to be at peace with life, and ultimately death.” Pray. Seek God. Spend time quietly sensing God’s presence with you. God is always there. When you feel as if you are losing heart, never give up. Turn to your Creator. God can comfort you and infuse you with peace in situations that feel impossible. Trust Him to lead you one step at a time.

7. Be a determined optimist. Believe strongly that life is worth living, and that good times lay ahead. As your health permits, pursue work and other activities that you find personally meaningful. Since you are alive, you have “unfinished business.” Find simple ways to honor your hopes and dreams. “Thorns and stings/ And those such things/ Just make stronger/ Our angel wings” (poem by Terri Guillemets).