EMSP Spring Conference 2014, Dublin
"For those reasons, the European MS Platform will host its Spring Conference in Ireland on the 8th and the 9th of May in the Gibson Hotel, Dublin. The theme of this year’s conference is “Care where it counts - in the journey with MS.”"
Caged
In a recent visit to Dublin Zoo, I sat down next to a snow leopard busy contemplating life, separated only by a thick window. It was still early morning, and nobody was around. Time seemed suspended as we were taking in each other’s presence and it was a soul-searching as well as soul-enhancing experience. While there, I thought about the kind of people that create problems on so many levels while others mean well and only speak from the heart. On the other side of that coin, so many incredible, misunderstood animals like Amur leopards as well as snow leopards, wolves, whales or arboreal mammals are ruthlessly hunted or driven from their habitats and a only seem to have a future on Planet Earth when they’re protected and locked up…
MS Ireland National Meeting Day 2013
Last September, I was invited by the Irish MS Society to take part in a panel discussion at their National Day in Galway. I happily accepted because we all know that I never say no to having a good chat. The topic of the National Day was ‘being active and interactive’, and the panel discussion covered employment, exercise, being online and volunteering. Trevis Gleason, well-known in the MS stratosphere and a new addition to the Irish population, interviewed four people with MS: Grace, Anne-Marie, Mark and myself. These are the videos covering above topics. We were all a bit nervous (no, really?! :)) because of being filmed, but we all did very well.
Dublin Speaks No Language
Dublin speaks no language I cannot hear with my heart. Sings no song I cannot Feel by the touch on my lips. Hold no love, I cannot Embrace with my thoughts. Dublin listens quietly, Unconditionally. ©Willeke Van Eeckhoutte ©Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2013. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
11 years!
There aren’t many things in my life that have outnumbered my years in Ireland as I celebrate my 11th anniversary of living in Ireland today. Once again I had to pinch my arm, making sure that I woke up in Clonsilla, Ireland instead of Belgium. Eleven years indeed. Dreams do come true if you want it badly, if you work at it and if you don’t lose focus. Eleven years. Eleven. Eleven. Yes, Billie, eleven! Love for family and friends obviously outnumbered all the years living in Ireland. Likewise for pets come and gone, as well as my addiction to books, libraries, history and all things Irish.
20 things you didn’t (necessarily) know yet
While browsing through the weekend newspapers yesterday, I came across a nice list of questions. I like lists. And I like questions. A female attribute? No doubt. Just for the fun of it, here we go! The book that changed my life: Ulysses by James Joyce, no doubt about it! The quote that keeps me sane: I’m a huge quote lover, so it’s hard deciding but I will use Friedrich Nietzsche once more: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”
Irish skies
WordPress Daily Prompt: Release Me Tell us about the blog post you were most nervous to publish — and what it was like to set it free. Photographers, artists, poets: show us FREE. For me, flying is being released from life, on earth and in my mind. Wonder about how people are able to create machines to take you abroad in no time takes over. Freedom is life. I would rather be free and ill than being stuck in a bad relationship and healthy. Flying and seeing Ireland beneath me time after time is proof that dreams do come true. Seeing Ireland below me is release enough for me to be happy for the rest of my life. “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your…