Presence of Mind – Whether you’re in this battle or not, we’ve all received the advice to make the most of every minute. We know it, we say it, we try to do it, we don’t always succeed…, but every reminder puts us back on track and isn’t that the point? If you get knocked down, you get back up again.

This is an image of last night’s sunset in the Berkshires. Being an off week for treatment, we’ve tried to take advantage with some midweek travel, and with the leaves turning, this seemed a good choice. It’s impossible to overstate the joy of witnessing a spectacle of nature such as this in person.

Try to be present, and make the most of every minute and you will be rewarded with a lifetime rich with experience and memories.

Faith is knowing, in the dark of night, that the sun will rise. I have faith that the treatments I’m receiving are doing what they need to do. I have faith that I am exactly where I need to be for what it is I need to do. “There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be, it’s easy. All you need is love.”

Currently, I’m three months into this regimen of chemotherapy. Early on I was told this road would present challenges and I was ignorant of what that meant. I’m still not sure I understand the scope of it, but it does feel like the flat cornfields of Kansas are behind me, and the Rocky Mountains are up ahead. Steeling oneself for the trek involves not just strength of body, but also mind and spirit.

I’ve placed the well-being of my body in the capable hands of some very amazing health care professionals, for whom I am so grateful. On the off-treatment days, exercise is essential and is something that is in my control. Positive thinking is mental exercise, and like physical conditioning, there are some days when it is harder than others. Spiritual energy for me comes in the form of prayer and reflection. I’ve placed the well-being of my spirit in the hands of God. I’m grateful for this life I live. With all its ups and downs it is a gift.

I pray for peace and strength, and that my journey can in some way serve a purpose greater than myself.

Receiving difficult news can make you feel like your world stands still, while everything else around you keeps moving at a hundred miles an hour. Look closely and you will see that you are not alone. You are NOT alone. Even though our burdens are our own, God offers each of us a helping hand, if we ask for it.

The love and support I’ve received are prayers answered.

The Moment – So there it is. That moment. There is not much that you can physically do in that moment when you learn your diagnosis. A moment when your world is turned upside down. You really don’t know how you will react until that moment of truth arrives.

Quick story…A friend of mine is having dinner at Chinese restaurant with his 90-year-old grandma, she opened her fortune cookie and read it. “Hope for the best, expect the worst.” I’m not sure that nonagenarian left the restaurant with any plans to return.

Some googling led me to this, more relatable variation of that idea, from Maya Angelou: “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst and unsurprised by anything in between.” And I suppose that was my frame of mind, heading into the procedure that would identify the cause of my discomfort. It turns out that the human spirit is a complex intangible component of our makeup, one of enormous power and influence over those of our more physical parts. I found this out when, in that moment, through the anesthesia-induced post-op haze, as the Doc informed me of my malignancy I told him, “Let’s get on it.”

Celebrate JOY at every turn. Last evening, at dinner in the city with my newly engaged son and soon to be daughter-in-law! It lifts my heart to imagine the love and life that awaits them.

It is no coincidence and no surprise that all of these beautiful souls are at the core of my support.

As challenges go, posting a photo a day hardly seems to qualify. But I understand this is simply a motivator to help participants create a cadence of content that will help keep this vital cause top of mind throughout social media this month. If you choose to follow these posts, please understand that this is a journey of hope, one that I share with the intention that it might resonate with all who may be traveling this road. Even through the tallest reeds, the sun shines through.