{"id":8584,"date":"2021-03-21T12:45:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-21T19:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brainstreams.ca\/?p=8584"},"modified":"2025-07-03T22:40:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T05:40:40","slug":"finding-purpose-in-what-you-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/messageinabottle.ca\/bcbia\/finding-purpose-in-what-you-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Purpose in What You Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

Between the Lines: Stories of Brain Injury Survivors \u2013 (Part 6 of 6)<\/h2>\n

\"person<\/a>This is the sixth post in <\/span><\/i>Between the Lines: Stories of Brain Injury Survivors<\/span>. If you missed the beginning of Tony\u2019s Journey, click here<\/a> to read it<\/strong>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been eleven years since Tony\u2019s first stroke. In that time, he\u2019s had his share of ups and downs–and learned some pretty big life lessons. \u201cIt\u2019s all part of the process,\u201d Tony says. In his view, recovery is a continuous, lifelong journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout <\/span>Between The Lines<\/span><\/i>, Tony has shared his experiences and his learnings, so that he might help others going through the same thing. We\u2019ve talked about how stroke awareness<\/a> saves lives, how facing your fears<\/a> is a key part of recovery, how counselling<\/a> can help families through tough times, and how mindfulness<\/a> is one of the most important tools in a brain injury survivor\u2019s recovery kit.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For our last instalment in this <\/span>Between The Lines<\/span><\/i> series, Tony wants to share one last piece of advice for brain injury survivors: lean into what you love.<\/span><\/p>\n

If Tony has learned anything during his journey, it\u2019s that being a stroke survivor doesn\u2019t mean you have to completely give up on your passions. In fact, Tony has found it actually helps to lean into them–just in different ways than you used to.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example: Tony loves to be outdoors. Before his stroke, he was your typical British Columbian, who\u2019d love to get out outside for a hike, a mountain bike ride, or a round of golf with his buddies. After the stroke, all of those things were off the table for a long time<\/span>–some permanently–<\/span>and he always had to be careful he was being active in a way that was safe for his body.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding your passion post brain injury<\/h2>\n

\"\"So how did Tony turn his passion for the outdoors into a sense of purpose? One way was through his love of golf. Unable to work the fast-paced, stressful job he used to, Tony began volunteering at his local golf course, which eventually turned into a job.<\/span><\/p>\n

He also became quite the gardener. In our previous post<\/strong>, we talked about how gardening is an important part of Tony\u2019s <\/span>mindfulness practice<\/span><\/a>. Being connected to nature helps clear his mind, and nurturing flowers and vegetables has become a rewarding experience he looks forward to at the start of every growing season. In many ways, leaning into his love of nature helped give Tony a sense of purpose during his life post-stroke.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, that\u2019s not to discount Tony\u2019s other passions. In many ways, Tony\u2019s love for getting involved and helping people blossomed even further after his stroke. Tony was a board member with the<\/span> BC Brain Injury Association<\/span><\/a> for many years, and he also volunteered at Semiahmoo House Brain Injury Services<\/a>, as well as the <\/span>Surrey Aphasia Group<\/span><\/a>. And by leaning into his passion for helping others, he\u2019s made a real, lasting impact on the lives of so many other brain injury survivors.\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019d like to turn things over to you. If you\u2019re a brain injury survivor, what passions do you have? Have you ever imagined that your passions pre-stroke could translate into something entirely different now?<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the sixth and final post of Tony\u2019s <\/span>Between the Lines.<\/span><\/i> To mark the end, Tony and the BC Brain Injury Association want to help brain injury survivors take a deeper dive into how to lean into their passions, post-stroke.<\/span><\/p>\n

Daily living after brain injury<\/h2>\n

An important first step in brain injury recovery is to assess how to manage daily living tasks effectively. Building <\/span>strategies<\/span> to help you succeed with the day to day is key to moving on to <\/span>activities you enjoy for leisure. Try:<\/span><\/p>\n