Today I’m writing about Mitch, a man I know who has really touched my heart.  And while you may not know him, I hope that this post about him will touch your heart and call your mind and body into action.  You see, Mitch has long been living with MS, a disease that stops us from calling our bodies into action.

I’ve known Mitch since quite early in my life.  We weren’t close buds, but we co-existed all throughout grammar and high school.  We actually reconnected last year when he caught my “It Gets Better” video as it made its way around Facebook.

Mitch reached out to me over Facebook, telling me how much that video meant to him.  We’ve talked on the phone several times since.  And as we have talked, and shared more about our lives, Mitch has honestly become one of the great heroes of my life.

MS has essentially stopped his body from moving, but he has been tirelessly working on therapies to help him to get moving.  Mitch is a great example of a man who owns himself fully, lives a day at a time, with his self-esteem well intact.  As much as I hope and want the people I touch professionally to live their lives out loud and with authenticity, Mitch is the gold standard upon which we could all learn.

From wherever Mitch perches himself with his phonecam or webcam, he posts some of the most touching, hysterical, and totally off-colored vlogs [video blogs] to his personal Facebook page.  But especially meaningful are his poetic writing postings, some of which are like love letters to his two young boys.  Others are as rhythmic and syncopated as Erica Jong poetry – as if they were set to an underground chill groove – as Mitch takes the reader on a journey through his roller coaster ride of strong, present, very alive, and compelling emotions.  True to form, Mitch nearly always concludes his written postings with the statement, “Life is beautiful. Enjoy the ride.”  Often, I end up in tears.

Read an especially poignant entry that was published online.

Many people, including me, have encouraged Mitch to write and publish this poetry.  His messages are a great reminder for himself and to his kids about this battle-worthy level of energy he possesses to keep fighting on.  When words fail so many others in Mitch’s situation, he gives a voice to the voiceless, including so many who root him on and who have encouragement in their hearts, but no words to say.

And this is why I am asking you to be a mensch for Mitch today.  Okay, you’re asking what is a mensch?  It’s Yiddish for a person of integrity and honor.  I’m asking you to be a part of a collective conscience of good energy today because Mitch is traveling from the Chicago suburbs where we grew up to visit the Cleveland Clinic to explore advanced treatment options.  In fact, on the day of this blog’s publication he is there seeking answers, hope, even a miracle.  I want our collective conscience to be like a big invisible hug that embraces Mitch and gives him all the support he needs.  It’s not enough that so many have learned so much from Mitch.  Mitch needs us now, and if this is the best way we can help, versus doing nothing, then we must do it.

So, please, go out of your way today to help a physically disabled person in need:  volunteer with or donate to any of the hundreds of great organizations [like the National MS Society] that help the physically challenged, hold a door for someone who’s in a wheelchair, chastise someone who is illegally parking in a handicapped designated parking space, and do it in Mitch’s honor.  And thanks for being a mensch for Mitch.  He’s my hero.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps high-profile individuals revitalize, manage, and be secure in their personal visual brand. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

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