Wise Words That Ease My Life with Multiple Sclerosis

I often turn to inspirational quotes when I’m going through a bad patch with MS (multiple sclerosis).

As an MS warrior for nearly 25 years, I have good days and bad days. What gets me through the worst of times? Leaning into the words of others.

I think of these words when I’m feeling sluggish but know that I need to exercise. So I start by doing what’s necessary: stretching. Doing just five stretches invariably motivates me to do more.

It may not be possible to walk 20 minutes on the treadmill but doing 3 minutes is usually possible. And just as St. Francis said, once I’ve accomplished the necessary and the possible, I often surprise myself by moving for that full 20 minutes, though it seemed impossible at the outset.

Having MS is challenging, but my fellow warriors know that our burden often brings out the best in us — courage, empathy, and resilience.

As C.S. Lewis, British writer and theologian (1898–1963), once said:

More quotes that inspire me during difficult times include:

• “How little do we know that which we are! How less what we may be!” — Lord Byron, English poet, 1788–1824
• “What does not kill me makes me stronger.” — Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher, 1844–1900
• “Once you choose hope, anything is possible.” — Christopher Reeve, actor, director, and activist, 1952–2004
• “Never despair.” — Horace, Roman poet, 65 B.C.E., unknown.
• “O Wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” — Percy Bysshe Shelley, British writer, 1792–1822
• “Boldness be my friend. Arm me, audacity.” — William Shakespeare, British poet, playwright, and actor, 1564–1616
• “A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.” — Henry Kissinger, American politician, 1923–2023

Through the years I’ve often turned to the wise words of Maya Angelou, American poet and activist (1928–2014). I’ll close with a quote of hers that could easily be the rallying cry for anyone coping with chronic illness: