July 08, 2008 Michael AugustineLisez en Francais
Hey folks,
Tomorrow night is another in a series of “pub nights” for the RONA MS Bike Tours. The bike tours are among the biggest fundraisers for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the pub nights were conceived as a way to bring together staff, tour leaders (those who maintain the integrity and safety of the ride while on route) and our amazing riders. Sadly, I will miss it.
Owing to those challenges I mentioned last time, I had made the decision to pull back from volunteering for a while to focus on myself, and on getting better. Although it certainly seemed like a good idea at the time, I have since come to realize that my involvement with the MS Society has become as integral to the organization itself, as it has to my own sense of physical health and emotional well-being.
If you’ve read my brief biography, you’ll have learned that I became a volunteer quite by fluke, while attending the MS Walk. I WILL say that, when you are a scared young man, with an uncertain future, seeing hundreds people at all once, all who are willing and eager to do anything in their power to find a cure, well...it’s an overwhelming thing to experience! I had decided I wanted to do more, anything I could, to be part of that experience. While my growth was slow at first, it quickly picked up speed, and I now take every opportunity to volunteer, or speak, or greet people, that I can.
This past November, I was deeply grateful when I was named to the MS Society of Canada’s “Volunteer Hall of Fame” - to date, only the third person to have ever been bestowed with this honour. Still, I was unprepared for the outpouring of support upon my announcement to retire temporarily. Notes of encouragement started coming from everywhere, and from people whom I never realized even knew of me, or of my story. And so, I have come back into the fold, as highly involved as I have ever been, if not more. I fully admit I am a “Type-A” personality, but this is more than that; this is about realizing that, without even seeing it happen, I went from being a victim of MS, to being a victor over it. And while I must still miss attending tomorrow night, I will still be there in spirit.
You can be certain of that!
I am truly proud to say that I personally know virtually every staff member at the provincial and national levels of the organization, and I am deeply humbled by the fact that they all gladly call me “friend.” I can think of few things in my life that have made me feel more valued as a human being than the time I have spent involved with these amazing people, making our mission to end MS a reality.
When I am told by some that I am wasting my time by volunteering - that I get nothing out of it, or that the Society exists to serve me, not the other way round, all I can do is shake my head and smile. I doubt that anyone will ever be as lucky as I am - to have been given what seemed like a curse, and to then have been allowed to transform it into this gift; this blessing in disguise.
I will never give that up again!
Irreverently Yours
Michael, who is feeling inspired