Write@Home
Winter 2015

Self-Improvement

Woman standing in corn field in fall

When I developed multiple sclerosis in 2007, I lost control of walking, and I lost balance while walking. I would tell anyone I saw in front of me,
"I'm sorry to lean toward you because I can't control my body." My walk was like that of astronauts, but I was on the ground. At the same time, I was struck by blindness. It is not my concern in the true sense of the word, but I could not see things clearly, as blurry vision was taking over. Meaning, I would see things as if they were imaginary, or as if when you walk in an atmosphere there is fog.

I was in the hospital for about two weeks and took cortisone and some nerve medications.
When I left the hospital, my vision returned, but not like before but the loss of balance took me years to return to being normal.
When I left the hospital, I decided not to succumb to the disease. I began the war with myself against the disease. I remembered the book Stop Worrying and Start Living.

Another book as I remember, was called We Are the Children of Tomorrow.
When I finished reading them, I wrote notes and it was the beginning of the steps to rebuild a new Samar.
I changed my diet and started swimming and walking, I started to move away from stress, and heat.
As the years passed, I began to change for the better.
As for my well-known slogan on social media, it is:
If you do not rise up, no one will lift you up.
Meaning, you must rely on yourself and not let others do your work unless you have to.

A long time ago, when I lived in Baghdad, I used to go to the library every weekend to buy books to read. I used to love reading and still love reading books. Sometimes I read history books, sometimes I read emotional stories, and sometimes I read human development stories.

One time I came across a book called, "Stop Worrying and Start Living." This book caught my attention and I bought it. It was almost 300 pages and I think I was in my mid-twenties. The book dealt with important topics, namely how to rearrange your life after every crisis you go through. But you must set limits with yourself.

I learned to fight myself after every achievement, no matter how simple, even if finished reading a book. This book was my first step to put me on the path of human development. I applied every step of the book to myself and it worked. Then I started advising my friends and relatives to read this book because it is very important. Then I continued to be interested in reading human development books.

Over the years, I found myself studying and obtaining a certificate in human development and becoming a human development coach.

Every human being must be renewed and feel that life is a blessing and a gift from God.

We have to live simply and not let pain control our lives. Because every day that passes in our lives brings us to the end. So we have to live as beautiful as possible. Trust me. I went through a very severe illness and became blind, and for a while, I was unable to walk, the doctor said I wouldn’t be able to walk anymore But I have confidence in God, in myself, and in my feeling that I have the strength to come back stronger than before. And it worked.

It has become my motto now "If you don't lift yourself, no one will lift you."