<\/p>\n
For those who think I am too Pollyanna, I want to talk about the blessing of cancer.<\/p>\n
WHAT??!\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, you read that right.<\/p>\n Those who know me know that in 2010 I was diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer.\u00a0 <\/span>This threw me for a metaphysical loop.\u00a0 <\/span>Up to that point in my life, I confess I had had an unusually blessed and healthy life.\u00a0 <\/span>I had not been expecting this curve ball.\u00a0 <\/span>It completely stopped me in my tracks.\u00a0 <\/span>It forced me to slow down and take stock of my life.\u00a0 <\/span>I not only had to figure out the course of my treatment, I also felt this need to know why this had happened.\u00a0 <\/span>Not only did I want to know what may have caused the mutated cells to multiply, but what was I to do with this experience?\u00a0 <\/span>In my belief system, things happen for a reason.\u00a0 <\/span>I wanted to figure out what that reason was.<\/p>\n One thing I realized was I was a writer with an educator\u2019s bent and so it made sense for me to write about my experience.\u00a0 <\/span>This I did in a blog called The Breast Blog. (http:\/\/thebreastblog.wordpress.com) \u00a0<\/span>I wrote not only about my physical symptoms, my clinical experiences, and treatment decisions, I wrote about my feelings, my dreams, my therapeutic processing, and my metaphysical musings.<\/p>\n One particularly powerful process occurred in the office of my friend, Betsy.\u00a0 <\/span>She and I had been exchanging body\/mind psychotherapy sessions for a couple of years.\u00a0 <\/span>In one particular session, I knew I needed to look for meaning in the \u201cdeath dreams\u201d I had been having.\u00a0 <\/span>In one dream, for instance, on a blackboard in an office was the word \u201cDeceased.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>There was something written after that but a structural column was blocking my view.\u00a0 <\/span>When I took a step to better see the board, I saw that my name was there, listed as one deceased.\u00a0 <\/span>In another dream, a character I knew to be me stepped outside a door and was promptly attacked and killed by a wolf.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n I won\u2019t go into all the details of this therapy session here (I do go into more detail in the other blog in a post called \u201cThe D Word,\u201d) but ultimately I realized that cancer was a gift because it caused me to examine my life more thoroughly.\u00a0 <\/span>Was I happy with my life?\u00a0 <\/span>Was there anything I would choose to do differently if I were to receive the gift of a longer life?\u00a0 <\/span>What changes did I need to make not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually?<\/p>\n As a result of this cancer scare, I finally eventually realized what it was I wanted to do with my life.\u00a0 <\/span>Or perhaps more accurately, I began to give myself permission to do what, deep inside, I really wanted to do.\u00a0 <\/span>I began to realize more fully how I had had a bad habit of feeling the need to do what others<\/i> thought I should<\/i> be doing, rather than what my spirit longed to do.\u00a0 <\/span>I began to realize that only I knew what was best for me and my spirit.\u00a0 <\/span>And it was my responsibility to listen to my spirit\u2019s longings.<\/p>\n I firmly believe that often we find ourselves ill because it is our spirit\u2019s way of forcing us to be still, rest, and take stock.\u00a0 <\/span>I believe deep inside us, we know what we long to be doing.\u00a0 <\/span>We just have to have the courage to actually do it.\u00a0 <\/span>Cancer and other life-threatening illnesses can be a powerful catalyst for acting more courageously.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n What are your dearest wishes and dreams?\u00a0 <\/span>My fervent prayer is that you give yourself permission to follow your dreams.\u00a0 <\/span>Please don\u2019t wait for cancer or a heart attack to propel you on your path.\u00a0 <\/span>Start taking baby steps now.\u00a0 <\/span>Or if you\u2019re really, really ready, take the leap.\u00a0 <\/span>Claim the life you\u2019ve always wanted for yourself.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n May you live your wildest and most precious life.\u00a0 <\/span>Now.<\/p>\n Blessed be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For those who think I am too Pollyanna, I want to talk about the blessing of cancer. WHAT??!\u00a0 Yes, you read that right. Those who know me know that in 2010 I was diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer.\u00a0 This threw me for a metaphysical loop.\u00a0 Up to that point in my life,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":553,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,62,70,69,27,39,2,71,72,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blessings","category-body","category-breast-cancer","category-cancer","category-changes","category-frightening","category-gratitude","category-health","category-taking-stock","category-the-breast-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n