I’m not a very good patient. I don’t like being forced to rest and I don’t like pain. So recovery from Friday’s surgery has been a bit of a bummer. After sleeping in late this morning after another fitful night, I awoke to a text message from one of my clients. The message began, “When I met you I could no longer imagine any exit but death from my pain-and-fear-filled world. Today, with a sense of peace and of my own abilities I did not believe possible for me, I live often in the moment, grateful for that moment and quietly hoping for more like it before I die. This is how your patient, persistent, loving teaching has changed my experience of my life. I try every day, in at least some small way to pass what you have taught me on to my family, my students, those whom I touch.” What an amazing gift she gave to me and one I will treasure deeply within me, for always.
I did not share the text to ring my bell. While it means so much to know I helped someone I care about, this message spoke to my strongly held beliefs about life. I believe that we all have the power to make a difference in this world. After I read the text, I flashed to an image of my parents talking to the doctors at Mayo Clinic as they explained that I would probably not survive past age 3. My parents must have felt my future vanish before their eyes. How would they know that someone with a short expiration date would someday make a difference? That this mischievous toddler would someday grow up to help another human being learn gratitude and mindfulness and to cherish time? That this person would pass that on to an untold number of students? And who of us knows how they will pass the knowledge to those in their life?
We cannot do everything, but we can do something. We don’t have to start a movement. We just need to make movement in our life and the lives of those around us. We don’t do this because it will win us praise, but because this is what we were created for. We don’t need a banner in our honor. However, a well worded and heartfelt text message can be sweet.
Footnote: Today is National Cancer Survivors Day. Show the love to a cancer survivor in your life!