Over a decade ago, I found myself struggling with a personal crisis, the kind that can change your life, as you know it, without asking for permission. At a certain point, when I felt I had reached "Rock Bottom" I made a conscious decision to live. I remember that exact moment in time because I didn't choose "not to die" - I chose to LIVE and those of you who have "been there" know that living isn't necessarily the out come of not dying.

If you hold the perception that the only objective meaning to the term "Living" is: the physiological opposite of death, then the above paragraph makes no sense, does it?

What if, I told you that there many more perceptions regarding life?

For the sake of challenging your point of view, allow me to offer one other perception by making a differentiation between: Being Alive and Living.

"Being Alive" is the physiological opposite of being dead. In order to be alive in a western society we need to satisfy a few basic needs: food, shelter, clothing, medicine, warmth, a job, procreation, companionship…

"Living" is an existence beyond our physiology. This existence can be reached when we honor our values and lead a fulfilling life on a daily base.

Our values are a part of our authentic self; they are the building stones of our life's vision – the vision of who we want to be and what kind of a life we want to live.

We all know how to "be alive" and when it comes to living with a chronic illness – we even get a "manual" in the form of a prescription and a medical consultation. But how many of us can truly name their values and articulate their life's vision? How many of us dare take back the power to make daily decisions that are aligned with our inner values, including medical decisions?

Muhammad Ali once said: “Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision.” Imagine what could be possible when people with chronic illness transform their existence from "Being Alive" to "Living".

Five years after I made the choice to LIVE, I found myself in the hospital been told I had just been diagnosed with PAH. As I listened to my doctor's explanations about my condition, I thought to myself that what ever direction my life would take would be entirely up to me , because I chose to live a fulfilling life, honoring my inner sacred  values, no matter what.

Today, 9 years after my diagnosis, I am living the life I chose for myself; I am a mother to a 5 year old princess named: Ella, the PH association I founded is thriving and I have my own Live Coaching business. Now I help others find a path to their life vision and connect to their inner strength because LIVING fully is a basic and natural human right and it is what I wish for you.

Breathe easy and dare to LIVE,

Shiri