"You Can't Always Get What You Want..."

"You Can’t Always Get What   You Want…”
A LIVING a fibroLIFE© Blog  
by Meshea Crysup,
Founder of fibroLIFE©   

​I never dreamed when I reached my fifties, I would share true words of wisdom by quoting the Rolling Stones. It is truly a gas, gas, gas!               
                        

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I understand many hate, even fear, change. Thankfully I have always embraced it. True to my nature, I embraced moving to Vicksburg. I have new friends, new favorite places, etc. I did not, however, find them by trying to replace or recreate what I had left behind in Paducah, KY. When it came to continuing fibroLIFE© however, that is not the approach I took. I truly felt I had to find non-fibro people dedicated to the cause, just like I had in Paducah.

Over the past two years I evaluated everyone I have met, decided which ones were approachable on the subject, and explained my ambitious vision to them. Most were impressed, or kind enough to pretend so, and some even wanted to be a part of it. Consistently, however, it would turn out that none of them had the time to spare. After all, fibroLIFE© has never made money; it has always been entirely volunteer. Interested, good people, just could not give up thier "day jobs", no matter how much they believed in what I was saying.

While I was unhappy about not finding anyone to help rebuild fibroLIFE©, my approach to the rest of my LIFE was working out pretty well! I did find people who liked to eat breakfast or lunch out, and had the time to do so. I met people with similar interest, such as history. Eventually, I even found a newly forming group to become a part of: Vicksburg Civil War Roundtable. In on the "ground floor" and true to my nature, when a chance for a leadership role presented itself, I took it! Ready, willing, and able, because I would have partners! It was volunteer work, not a job. No one would  live or die, nor would I be fired, etc. if I went into a flare! Nothing would fall apart if I fell apart for awhile! Perfect!

I was excited from the get-go! I was involved in the meetings, planning how we wanted to “grow the group”, promoting what we were doing on facebook, through networking with history-based businesses and organizations locally, etc. I could not do it every day and I surly was not doing it all according to my own very high expectations. Regardless, I was meeting new people, taking part in very interesting discussions, excited about upcoming events, developing new ideas--all things I thrive on when I am well  enough to do them.

Wait a minute…
That sounds an awful lot like LIVING!
Duh! Talking about not seeing the forest for the trees!
I had been locked into thinking I had to recreate the former dynamic of fibroLIFE©. If I were ever going to have any degree of success again with fibroLIFE©, I truly felt I had to find non-fibro people dedicated to the cause, just like I had in Paducah.

Maybe the successful rejuvenation of fibroLIFE© would not happen or look like what I was expecting?
Maybe what I needed was to recognize, be thankful for, and embrace the fibroLIFE© I was building here?
After all, fibroLIFE© in Paducah got people out of the house, got them involved in activities, encouraged creating partnerships between fibro and non-fibro people so the fibro person could be a part of something that would not falter or fail when they had a flare.

As far as "the big picture", I always resisted re-inventing the wheel. I never wanted to duplicate what someone else was doing very well already. fibroLIFE© promoted and shared the great work done by others  and focused on what we identified as lacking. Our vision and methods were always different. fibroLIFE© has always been basically me, LIVING my LIFE openly and sharing my successes and failures in the hope of inspiring, motivating, and encouraging others to LIVE their own fibroLIFE© to the fullest! fibroLIFE’s credibility was based firmly upon my never telling anyone they could do anything I had not already done myself! I insisted that we owed it to ourselves to examine our LIVES--what we were passionate about-- and look at the opportunities around us, and then embrace every opportunity available, right where we were, whereever that may be.  I do not recall quoting them exactly, but in my own way I was always LIVING, and encouraging others with FMS  to LIVE, according to one of my favorite Rolling Stone's song:
You can’t always get what you want.
But if you try sometimes, you just might find—in fact I am positive most of the time—that you get what you need!

Without even realizing it—by just being myself, doing things that interested me, determined to be a productive person in a meaningful way in spite of FMS—I found the non-fibro partners I needed. True, they are not doing any of the things I thought I needed them to do. No one is blogging about FMS, planning fibroLIFE© events, working on the next tool or book, etc. In fact, not a single one of my new partners are doing anything that would cause them to ever say, “Oh and I have been helping out with this organization called fibroLIFE©”.

My newest “partners-in-time” are people with extraordinary enthusiasm for and talents in other areas of LIFE that interest me. I have always loved history! When I moved here, I was shocked at how Vicksburg did not embrace its very important role in history. I have been on a soapbox from day one wanting to help change that. My new, non-fibro “partners-in-time” have enabled me to do just that!

​I am not planning any fibroLIFE© events. I have halted all the fibroLIFE© projects I still believe in but cannot do on my own.  I am not pursuing any of  "the usual stuff". Intead I am LIVING by becoming involved in something in the non-fibro world. I tapped into something I have always LOVED, and I am sharing it with you, to SHOW you in stead of just telling you, that YOU CAN TOO!
​Afterall, that has always been the fibroLIFE© way!
I am LIVING, minimizing the fibro, maximizing the LIFE!
I am LIVING in spite of FMS.
I am LIVING my fibroLIFE©
It is not remotely the way I had hoped for or thought it had to be.
Just between you and me, and anyone else who will listen, I believe this way is going to be even better!
          No you can’t always get what you want.
          No you can’t always get what you want.
          But if you try sometimes
         You just might find
         You’ll get what you need!
                        ~The Rolling Stones