My hair is being unruly/I didn't style it this morning. So into the Fendi scarf it went. And, then the phone rang. It was a woman I'd recently reached out to. She is on treatment #2.
All of a sudden I fee like that "1-in-8" statistic is way off. There are so many of us. SO MANY. We're all going through treatments, know the drugs, know the local surgeons, oncologists, share stories, treatment options… what's striking is that inner strength. It's the shear determination that this is just a distraction. That cancer will not define us.
So I find myself both proud and sad to be 1-in-8. It's a real delicate balance. I can't deny that I wish we hadn't had to go through all that cancer crap just to find out that we are strong enough to come out all the better for it. I'm proud that we came through so strong, with such love. It's not easy, not every day, to forget it or get past it. But it's now in the rear-view mirror for me.
We're done. Even if I wear the occasional scarf to hide my bad-hair-day I'm still happy to have a bad hair day.
2 comments:
jenn --
you and your "fendi" post brought to mind the following quote:
"Do not go where the path may lead, but go, instead, where there is no path - and leave a trail" -- Epicitetus
this philosopher was most likely born a slave around 55 AD. the name "epictetus" in greek translates to "acquired." his philosphy has influenced albert ellis, marcus aurelius, james joyce, j.d. salinger, matther arnold [memorialized in a sonnet, "to a friend," tom wolfe, and to keith seddon. seddon published a translation with commentary, Epictetus' Handbook, in which he applies epictetus's stoic principles of living to contemporary living:
We should have no qualms in seeing this enterprise as progress towards a spiritual enlightenment, in which the world and one's place in it are seen in a radically new light. It is this realization of what human beings really are and how we should engage in life that Epictetus sought to convey to his students in his school nearly 2,000 years ago.
you and you alone will define you!
period.
please go forth from this moment on designing your trail albeit beautifully as a two time emmy award winning designer.
love,
cherie
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