Dearest Friend,
I hope all is well with you and yours.
Last year my Love Notes were focused on the Power of Hope and the Power of Surrender. This month I'm exploring the Power of Faith, which I think is a combination of both – hope and surrender.
As I currently finish off the last of my six-month chemotherapy regimen for what (I pray) is as they say, a curable form of lymphoma, I focus on the hope I have to live a long and love-filled life, with my surrender to the outcome and the gratitude for each day.
There was one scene in (movie) where Harrison Ford, as Indiana Jones, was stuck on a precipice needing to get to the other side of a deep gully.
It looked like the only way was down, and there was no way he was going to be able to reach the other side. Instead of giving up or turning back, he carefully put out a foot to take one step, and landed on an invisible bridge to the other side.
There is something about that scene that reminds me of the Power of Faith.
What does FAITH mean to you, and where can you add more to your life?
Faith can be a belief in God, a knowingness of some deeper connection to all, a sense of Oneness, a believe in one’s own Self.
Maybe it’s about trusting that if I have the courage to take a step in the direction of my heart’s desires, then God (or the Universe or Higher Power) will be there to support me.
Faith, trust and courage. The traits that are serving me well as I undergo chemo for stage 4 lymphoma. As long as I focus on the faith that the way will be shown to me, all I have to do is I just take the step that’s in front of me, whatever that is.
Maybe it’s going for chemo, or dealing with the side effects.
Maybe it’s being with my grandchildren, and relishing every moment.
Perhaps the extra time I’m spending with friends and family is all part of the journey.
Cancer brings many gifts. You just have to know where to look.
- I finally lost the 20 pounds I gained after college.
- I don’t have to worry if I’m having a “good hair” day.
- I realize (which I always have) how wonderful my family is.
- I celebrate the connection with friends who truly care.
- I enjoy everything I eat when I have the appetite.
- I rejoice on pain free moments and days.
- I revel in my sense of independence and self care.
- I am infinitely grateful to the doctors, nurses, and medications that save lives.
But faith is what sustains me beyond the present moment.
Instead of worrying about the future, or planning my next list, goal or project, I am feeling more relaxed now than before my diagnosis.
Maybe because the reality of my own mortality, or the possibility that I may not live forever, I realize I may not really have time (no matter how much time I have) to complete all the projects I have considered, books I want to write, or courses I plan to create.
So I’m surrendering the reins of trying to control any outcome, and just showing up each day with gratitude.
That way, I follow my inspiration as to what to “do” when I feel like it, and not concerning myself on what I think I “should” be doing.
The Lord’s Prayer is what I repeated when I had scary and painful procedures to endure.
And each night I thank God for the day I have.
As George Michael sang, You Gotta Have Faith,“Cause I gotta have faith ….Mm, I gotta have faith ….. Because I've gotta have faith, faith, faith I gotta have faith, faith, faith”
I invite you to do the same.
What can you stop worrying about today, and instead have a little faith?
What is your definition of FAITH? And what “Leap of Faith” can you take?
I’d truly love to know and any response you make comes directly to me, and I read every word. xoxoxo
