Thoughts from Ross Lilley, Executive Director

I spent my 20+ years as a minister looking for commonalities with other faiths. Heck, I’m still looking, but ‘Living in the present’ seems to be a tenet most lift up. If one lives in the moment or is “present” then they have put aside worry about the future, luggage from the past, or other preoccupations. This is the whole trick to living life fully and quite difficult for most of us.

During the fall and winter we spend a lot of one on one time in our gait gym, doing cycling, tennis, and weekly Thursday evening soccer. Our athletes in these programs live with a wide range of disabilities and challenges to their emotional well-being. What is striking to me is that, in our time together, spirits are high. Loneliness and worry seem to keep distance from our lives when we train.  I guess we learn from each other to just BE in those moments. Some have degenerative conditions while others are on a long and uncertain road to more function. Who knows what we all carry coming in, but the hard work and play mixed with this mysterious sense of comfort when together get us out of our heads. We certainly take the challenges we all face seriously, but it’s almost impossible to do anything but smile, laugh, and savor our larger family.

While AccesSport holds the patents for our TheraTrek gait/walk system, we don’t hold any rights to the feeling I described above. I’m sure you all have felt the same way when you share with family or some community. I hope you have a place where you live deliberately and in focus of those around you this week.

To be thankful, I suggest we also have to live in the present. Community helps us in that regard and there’s no better community than all of you. Thank you all for being a part of AccesSport. Knowing we have your support and are part of our events and our lives helps us enjoy the present.

Happy Thanksgiving