Inspiration Tuesday: What Aimee Copeland Teaches Us About Being Whole

So, if you haven’t noticed, I really love questions. And I’ve got another question for you this week.

How do we feel whole when a part of who we are is missing?

I mean, like, literally missing.

Like something is for Aimee Copeland, the subject of a new feature here at Be Yourself and the Rest Will Follow^® called Inspiration Tuesday, a once-a-month feature highlighting someone or something that inspires us to be ourselves, to overcome a challenge, or something else.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, there is great inspiration to be found in other people’s stories.

And Aimee’s story is awe-inspiring, to say the least…as you read it, think about how you would respond if you were in her situation…I know I certainly have!

On an ordinary day, anything can happen…and it did to Aimee.

A lover of nature, 24-year-old Aimee Copeland was enjoying a beautiful day outside with friends kayaking at the Little Tallapoosa River, located about 50 miles west of Atlanta.

Having fun and enjoying the outdoors. Sounds pretty ordinary, right?

It was, until she made the fateful decision to go zip-lining using a homemade zip line, which snapped, causing her to fall and get a huge gash in her leg that required 22 stitches.

Thinking everything was fine, Amy left the hospital, but, three days later, still feeling excruciating pain, Amy returned to the emergency room, where doctors concluded she had the rare flesh-eating bacterial infection, necrotizing fasciitis.

Amy quickly went from having fun with friends to now fighting for her life.

And she went from being what society defines as “normal” and “beautiful” to a girl who had to have both hands, one leg and her other foot amputated in order to save her life.

What Aimee Copeland teaches us about being whole…

Many might ask, ‘But, what kind of life is that, after having lost the very limbs we consider so precious and so necessary for navigating this world? When we’ve lost a part of who we are?’

But not Aimee. Aimee not only survived − she’s thrived. In body. In spirit. And with her sense of self completely intact.

Maybe you haven’t lost something physical, like Aimee did. But you feel as if there’s a part of you that’s missing, something keeping you from feeling and being whole.

If so, take a note from Aimee Copeland…

: | Find meaning in your ‘missing piece’.

As a passionate soul, I have a lot of “wow” moments in life, but something Aimee said after her accident really floored me.

After having lost her limbs, she said, and I quote, “I am blessed to be able to have a challenge that not many others get to have. I am blessed to have the capacity to share my experience with others and have a chance to improve the quality of someone else’s life. I’m blessed to be different.”

I’ve always believed that you find meaning in your challenges when you use your challenges to help others. If you feel as if you have a missing piece and are questioning why, you’ll know why as soon as you use your “missing piece” to help others. That’s where the meaning lies.

Tweet this –> You find meaning in your challenges when you use your challenges to help others.

: | Focus not on what’s missing, but on what’s found.

Aimee said something else after her accident that really grabbed me. “I don’t focus on what I’ve lost, I would rather focus on what I’ve gained.”

In the absence of her limbs, it’s obvious that Aimee focuses on the endless amount of love and support she’s received; on her new prosthetics that allow her to function like before and to walk again; and on her service dog, Bella, who makes her life much easier.

And, as mentioned above, on the new-found opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.

Maybe it’s a high price to pay, but, in interviews I’ve seen with Aimee, she seemingly believes that it’s the things that are “missing” from herself that have given her life more purpose. And that’s where she focuses…

: | Fine-tune your attitude.

Ultimately, how we see ourselves is a choice. And here’s where Aimee can inspire us yet again − by her beyond-amazing attitude.

As told to ABCNews.com, Aimee said, “There are two ways to look at life: I can either think of the bad things that happened to me as random and feel sorry for myself, or I can find meaning in my suffering and use it.”

Beyond the wonderful attitude Aimee has regarding what happened to her, she has this same positive attitude toward herself.

Aimee doesn’t see herself as less than whole, or as less than, period. How she defines herself starts in her mind, not in her missing limbs, and she’s facing the world with her head held high and with a whole heart.

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Inspiring, right? I hope to get the chance to interview Aimee one day for my blog, but, until then…

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If you know someone struggling to feel whole, please share this post with them by using one of the share buttons at the top or bottom of this post, or by emailing them this URL: http://beyourselfandtherestwillfollow.com/what-aimee-copeland-teaches-us

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To wholeness,