We're not struggling, we're learning.

I've heard it said that one of the most difficult things in the world is to be good at something and watch someone who isn't try to do it. I don't know how the actual quote goes or who said it. I couldn't seem to find it on google. I suppose that doesn't matter. I can solve that problem.

"The most difficult thing in the world is to be good at something and watch someone who isn't try to do it." -NickWithMS

There. Now I've said it. Exactly like that.

I am guilty of this and I'm sure many of my readers are as well. As a piano player, I forget how difficult it was for me to begin 20 years ago. I forget how much I struggled with every note I played; how much I struggled to teach my fingers to remember where they keys are so I could form chords without having to think; how much I struggled to be able to transform from making noise to making music.

Any time we encounter something new, we struggle with it. Humans are blessed with arguably the most evolved and adaptive brains on the planet. I say 'arugably' because some people might argue that Dolphins are smarter than humans. That line of thinking turns out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy because anyone who believes it to be true is less intelligent than a dolphin.

but they're just so damn cute, aren't they?

Sorry. I got side tracked.

It can be very difficult as an adult to remember what life was like when we were seven years old. Especially since most people reading this blog have Multiple Sclerosis so memory isn't really our strong suit. When something is new to us, it frustrates us. This feeling of frustration is only made worse by adulthood because we believe we are already so good at everything. We aren't used to trying something for the first time.

I have tried to teach @CassyWithoutMS to play piano with me and it is incredibly frustrating. Not because she's a slow learner - because she's incredibly fast and incredibly smart - but because what seems like second nature to me is something that she struggles with. I, again, forget that I struggled with it too at one point.

With MS, anything can be a struggle at any point. It is important to remind yourself that this isn't a weakness, it's a learning process. While it can be very frustrating and often times overwhelming, we all have to remind ourselves that we aren't struggling, we're learning. We're learning to to live our lives with the new challenges we face. Our brains are very good at adapting to any situation. Let your brain do what it loves to do.

"You have to make noise before you can make music."-NickWithMS

That one is actually a quote from me. Keep at it folks.
Life doesn't get harder, it just gets different.
NickWithMS
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