By nature I have always been adventurous and find humor in almost everything. Recently a wonderful friend of mine was diagnosed with throat cancer and after his surgery his little daughter treated him to a pedicure that included every shade she had in her polish collection. He proudly wore them everywhere and even though we were all shaken with thoughts of how serious his plight was, we had to smile. When we realized that he too was smiling, it somehow lifted the gloom and doom.
Well as luck would have it, I too have been diagnosed with cancer this summer and have now decided how I feel about it. Sure it's a bummer thing to hear, but if you have faith, and I've got plenty of that, why worry? It's all in the hands of a far higher power than I. Not to be preachy, but if you believe you are going to go through the valley of the shadow with a whole lot of spiritual help, you simply put on your cutest traveling outfit and ease on down that road.
And colors may be my key in this fight. As odd as this may sound I had an epiphanal moment in Costco last week. I am pretty sure there aren't a lot of people saying, "whee goody, we get to go to Costco" out there. You go because the prices are good, the produce is in tip top condition and the selection wide. You walk through several football fields of goods to the back where the cold room is.
You know that cold room...it's where they store the berries, mushrooms, broccoli and beans that need the coolest temps to stay crisp and fresh. I run in and out as quickly as possible because it's way below my acceptable line for comfort.
However, when I stepped in I stopped just inside the doorway and started to look - really look - at the different types of produce. The carrots were day-glo orange. There were many different shades of red from strawberry, raspberry, red/ purple and dark red. I never noticed how many shades of green there are out there. Even the woodsy grey/browns of the mushrooms next to the golden corn brought me up short. Talk about a color palette from which to choose and in this case, all edible.
Maybe it's my newest state of wonderment over the cancer still growing in my body (soon to be carved out and irradiated) or the realization that when we say to take one day at a time, it really means to slow down and appreciate the veritable feast of sensations in front of us. I never experimented with drugs in college, but have often heard how mind blowing colors became, from those who did. Never have to wonder about that anymore.
I guess in the end that when something threatens your way of life, you can either screech about the entire unfairness of the whole thing, or you can just stop and think about what means the most and let those images sooth you. Little did I realize that amongst the things that would impress me was a visit to the cold room at Costco and the very spiritual realization that our world is a lovely, colorful place just waiting to be noticed.
Stop and smell the roses and the berries too. And if you really want to put a smile on your face, paint your toenails and flaunt them in the face of Demon Cancer. You'll make you own day and that of those who smile back at you.
