As my younger sister is treated for Melanoma, my desire to help her to prevent this condition's recurrence is high. Several years ago we lost Mom to a six-year battle with Lymphoma, and (too high) a number of good friends and family members have faced this challenge as well over the years. Prevention (for my sis, and for us) is paramount in my life right now. Individualized nutrition, fresh air, adequate sunshine and consistent exercise are all absolutely necessary for our healthiest life and Ron & I have availed ourselves of them all throughout the years.
But there's a lesser-known prevention measure that greatly deserves mention. And I'm more excited about this than all the others put together. But I'll let my good friend Don Richmond (recording artist, writer-musician extraordinaire, and cancer survivor) tell you what it is. In a recent conversation, when asked for his suggestions on diet, etc., he spontaneously added his insights on this prevention measure.
"Truly, I think one of the most powerful cancer-fighting things is to do things that bring joy - Joy with a capital J - things that make your heart soar and send chills up your spine. [And we all] need to do things that we always talk [ourselves] out of, saying that we have no time or that we are too selfish. Because the truth is, if we don't do those things we have nothing to offer others anyway. I came out of the period when I almost died knowing that in the core of my being. I still wrestle with it, telling myself I need to stay and work instead of going to the mountains or whatever, or taking a walk down to the river. "
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| Alamosa, CO Song-smith Don Richmond |
He continues, "Sorry for the preaching - I couldn't not add that in - I think it is more powerful than almost anything else we can do. I also attribute a lot of my healing to the prayers and energies of others, and of God through that. But there is a saying that God cannot give us what we refuse to give ourselves, and I think that Joy I spoke of falls in that category."
Don's advice is timely and right on target. So often we deny ourselves joys in life which we view as frivolous or selfish. But a balanced life lies in both giving to others and taking for ourselves. Imagine that! It's been said that the cancer profile-type is often a studious, hard-working person who holds stress inside. They hesitate to do the things for themselves that others often do, and instead focus on others instead of themselves. In creating a healthy physical landscape where healthy cells thrive and cancer cells don't, our psychological landscape cannot be ignored. Our mind and body are one. And if we are laughing, loving, and living, things happen in our bodies that chase the blues (and the bugs) away.
Question: do you know what you really enjoy? Wait. Think about that. Not what your spouse enjoys. Not what your friends enjoy. What YOU enjoy? Do you enjoy it regularly? If not, what keeps you from it?
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| What do you really enjoy? |
These may be life-or-death questions, so ponder them carefully. Also, it's worth mentioning that there are many things that weigh on our minds each day that would rob us of our joy. The world is in disorder, our finances don't always balance out, and maybe our jobs or families are not what we'd hoped for them to be. It's enough to make for a pretty noisy head. But we needn't live in those parts of our head. Emotions (anger and fear, for example) were created to help us to make needed adjustments in our lives, and then be put aside until needed again. They were never designed to hold us captive and addicted. We are emotional free agents-we were designed with the ability to choose. And I choose joy. You see, joy saved my life also. In a very painful season several years ago, hurt and fear took over. My health suffered and my body weight dropped which made it even worse. Positive cognition came very hard at that time, but somehow I knew that in addition to whatever physical methods I used to recover, restoring joy to my life would be the key to permanent recovery. You can read about it here.
And restore it did. Hard as that time was, it opened a door for me that may never have been opened otherwise. And for that I am thankful. Joy is a choice that will always lead to healing, and winning. And it can come in the smallest of things. If you really want to win in life, you've got to check your joy gauge. When it's empty, it's hell. But it's hard to get to the top. Joy is something we humans can't get enough of. Being cognizant of joy, and including it in our schedules (and budgets-c'mon, pedicure!) is a noble thing to do!
"I see you holding your grandbabies - now there's Joy with a capital J!"
