Back to blogging

It’s been a long break, but I’m back to share my experiences.  What a journey the last couple of years has been.

The saddest time was losing my brother to cancer, within a matter of weeks, when he was really enjoying life in his fifties.  He hardly ever saw a doctor and always appeared to me to be a big strong healthy man with a wonderful nature, that didn’t moan or speak ill of anyone – he never argued with anyone ever, therefore he was loved by all family and friends.  Life can be so cruel to take people like him, so quickly and so early, but it proves how much he was loved by the amount he is missed every day by so many.

Nothing I can write on this site or in my book about how difficult OCD makes life will be at all significant in comparison to this loss – losing a close family member you love puts all of life into context and the lesson I’ve learnt from this sad event is that I must be grateful for every day I am on this planet.

I recently read a quote by Pablo Picasso that keeps drifting through my mind:

The meaning of life is to find your gift.  The purpose of life is to give it away.

My brother’s gift to me was to remind me that life is very precious and mustn’t be taken for granted.

I have interpreted this to mean that I must not hide away, or be ashamed of having OCD, and I must make my purpose to be that I share my experiences with others that are interested, no matter how embarrassed or uncomfortably exposed I feel.  There are many of us that live with OCD, but there is only one of me, with my personal challenges and unique solutions, and if I don’t share them here I may never be of use to anyone else – that would be a waste.