Recovery After Paralysis--120%!

My job as a translator often gives me the opportunity to meet incredible people--one such person is speaker and author, Grant Korgan. My first introduction to him was comical. I sat on stage, off to the side, in a spotlight so the Deaf folks present could view my interpretation with ease. On the front half of the stage sat a lone stool, and within minutes of starting a kindly gentleman came over to me and explained that this section of the stage was about to be lowered below ground level. "Don't fall in," he playfully warned. Little did he know, I was about to do just that.

From my bird's eye view, I was able to see everything happening down in "the hole." A man strode out, using canes on either side of him. He deliberately sat down on the stool and arranged his suit and microphone.  Then, as if on cue, he looks up at me, sitting there curiously watching him. He beams an adoring smile, crosses his arms over his chest and mouths, "I love you," unabashedly! I, of course, grin back and throw him a kiss off my fingertips, but I must be honest, I'm thinking, "who is this guy?" He returns a few more air-kisses and then prepares himself to launch. The man's introduction proceeds as my hands lift and begin conveying the dialogue.

Grant Korgan was indeed launched that night--into the hearts and minds of all who had the great honor to hear him speak. Grant shared his story and spoke poignantly of a snowmobiling accident that resulted in an L1 burst fracture in his back. He had no feeling from his waist down and knew he was facing the most challenging journey of his young life thus far. Amazingly he knew, "there was no way, no way at all, I was gonna live in fear." Grant developed what he called, 3 Points of Possibility, the keys to meeting adversity head-on and overcoming it joyfully:

1. Decide What You Want in life (Sounds like the Inner Constellation "North Star" concept, huh?)
2. Focus on What IS Working
3. at all points, Choose Positivity Through Adversity

Grant introduced his team, the people who support him on his journey, and the monumental partner in his success--his wife, Shawna. All of them radiated a quality that helped me answer my initial question, "who is this guy?" Grant Korgan, his wife and his team are expressions of the Eternal, the celebration of this blog and everything Inner Constellation represents--they are all sparks of the Divine. As I study Grant's website, I see a little line written at the bottom of a webpage, an expression many of us desperately need to hear and take to heart:

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Mad Luv. --Korg

In my heart's work with survivors of trauma, I'm continually faced with the balance of acknowledging tragic events but ultimately finding ways to transform the challenge (Inner Constellation Truth #3). Unwavering gratitude is key; recognizing the gifts is a life practice. At the end of Grant's talk, he reminded the crowd of something dear to my heart--"we are all survivors." Thank you, Grant Korgan and team for a most excellent tribute to what is  lasting and true, and unbreakable.