It's Not What's Missing, It's What is Present
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Jennifer Rose Goldman
My name is Jennifer Rose Goldman. In 2021, just days before my 31st birthday, I suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. The brain bleed was completely out of the blue. I had been in perfect health, and a stroke was the last thing I expected to happen to me.
One morning, I woke up feeling fine. I worked out, meditated for close to an hour, got ready, and drove to work just like any other day. Then suddenly, the bleed happened — in my left frontal lobe.
Before the stroke, I had been a motivational speaker. I went from inspiring others with my words to being unable to utter a single one. I lost the ability to think, speak, and express myself clearly and passionately. It was devastating to both my life and career.
But even through that, I’ve chosen to have an attitude of gratitude and positivity. It’s not automatic, it’s a conscious choice I make every single day. Healing begins when you focus on what you have rather than what you don’t. It’s a matter of shifting your perspective from what’s missing to what’s present.
This focus on what I have is critical to my recovery. When I shift my perspective toward what’s here, I become more aware of my progress, of all that I do have, and that awareness keeps me determined to move forward on my journey.
Recognizing these blessings fills me with gratitude and gives me strength to keep going. Why? Because I am alive. That is a miracle. I feel grateful for my life. The fact that I’m speaking right now into this recording (I’m learning to find my voice, literally, with the help of a speech therapist and learning to take advantage of talk to text apps to assist me in daily life) that’s amazing.
I’m still working on regaining my peripheral vision, but I can now see straight ahead with my eyes, and that alone makes me feel like I’m on the right track. I’m uplifted by possibility. By my small but incremental progress I notice daily, with the belief that I can recover, that I can regain movement on my right side, that I can heal fully and completely. At the same time, I must recognize what I’ve already accomplished and be grateful for all I’ve achieved so far.
If I hold the mindset that I’m never going to walk again, then I close off the possibility of ever walking again. I shut that door completely before I’ve even tried. That kind of thinking traps you in what you can’t do and is very limiting.
Gratitude, on the other hand, opens doors. It makes things possible. Being grateful shifts your perspective.
Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, you begin to see and appreciate what you do. When you recognize what you have, it becomes possible to be positive, and positivity has been essential to my recovery. Positivity and gratitude are inextricably linked to the very possibility of change and transformation.
There are times when I feel bad for myself, but I don’t let myself stay there. When you allow yourself to wallow, you fall into a spell of negativity — and for me, that simply isn’t an option.
Connect With Jennifer
Instagram & Tik Tok: @jenniferrosegoldman
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