Reading this brought B to mind who has been battling cancer for several years and has been winning so far. She's my childhood friend. When things nose-dive for her, I feel a sense of panic, of time running out, wonder if this will our last chance to meet. Then just like that the scare is over, she is sailing in clear blue sky, her sprit undaunted and undiminished as ever.
She makes me and everyone else who knows her believe that miracles can and will happen - most certainly they will for B because she is such an amazing human being. God must want her to stick around and do more good for others - as she has been doing her entire adult life. I did not feel right about sharing the thread with B - she is so much wiser than me that none of this will be revelation for me. But there was wisdom there for me:
You have opportunity after opportunity to create something lovely for yourself or others. Every moment you choose to sit and think about horrors beyond your control, every time you make the choice to look for more and more details about just HOW bad... you are turning away from those opportunities..
The imagined "horrors" in the lives of regular people like me abound. We can get ourselves worked up about things we don't control, things that cause us much aggravation or disquiet. That is the time-sink to avoid at all costs. I often recall things B has said to me over the years to center me in times of trouble because she walks the talk every single day, leading an exemplary life while battling for life itself.
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