Lens of Love

     "I've got some bad news girls, so I'm just going to say it and get it over with"... is not the best preparation for "My cancer has come back." Then again is there really any "good" way to deliver such gut-wrenching news? Well, maybe. But even with a pretty bow wrapped around the outside the surprise within wouldn't be any sweeter to deal with.

     News like this makes you want to scream, shout, get angry, cry, question, plead. And sometimes you have to- and that's OK. You break. And I mean break... like the pieces are shattered. And you now have a very large pile of dirt to sit in. Or...

     You have the same very large pile of dirt accumulated by your tears anger and frustration but you also have a choice. No you can't always change your external circumstances, but you can change the way you perceive your situation. Dirt wasn't made for sitting in anyway. It is the basis for which new life can grow. 

     The same idea can be applied to a broken spirit. Whether it's a cancer diagnosis (4th time around in this case) a break-up, a betrayal, or a job loss, you always have an opportunity to bring a dark situation into the light. That is what I have learned about miracles. They aren't always the cookie cutter idea of a change of circumstances, but rather a shift of perception.  It's taking a seemingly hopeless situation and saying 'what good can I learn from this situation and how can I love better and help others because of it.'  Where an empty wallet once was the end of the world, now it's a chance to experience the joys in life that come at no cost. Where once a cancer diagnosis was the end of life as you knew it, now it's a wake-up call to truly start living!

     Yes times can be tough, but as long as were here we might as well make the most of what we have. Love is all around us. Sometimes it's hard to see when were so bent on our own bad news. But that doesn't stop it from trying to reach us. What's true, what's beautiful, and what's lovely doesn't stop being any of those things just because we can't see them. Sometimes all we need is a miracle; a new perception. 

     
     Trade your lens of fear for a lens of love and you'll see that it will always give reason to keep your eyes wide open.

When It's Rough

     Smiling can be the LAST feat you feel ready to accomplish when your heart sits so heavy in your chest that it  seems to weigh down your whole body.  And still... sometimes it's all you can do. 

     Most of us know for a sure fact that cancer does NOT discriminate.  Not when you're a child, and not when your an otherwise very healthy young man with two children.  One thing is for sure, if it is good for anything it's to show you where your strength really lies. I'ts funny how that works.  That sometimes it's not until we're on our knees that we finally decide to look up. When every 'thing' we have or care about is at stake we begin to see the things that really matter more clearly. Love comes in and has a way of putting our fears at rest. Love will carry us through. 

     It's a shame that we so often wait until we have nothing left to see this.  But see it we will. And that's where we find the purpose in pain.  We're not on our own.  Love will carry our burdens and offer us 

all a shelter to rest. It is meant to take up refuge in. Love always gives reason to lay our old ways down and smile at the new life we find. 

    And a good laugh can always help too :)

     

The music still plays

    If anything at all, She is a  blossoming spirit
        b u r s t i n g  f o r t h 
                       A Butterfly of the most High
She beckons a new song where a tune has turned familiar
                  Through this window I see Her
        fluttering from   here  to        there
                     A harmonious exchange of Light
                  She carries with her Truth
Yes,   t r a i l  i  n   g  beauty
                                    She  brings  forth  her
                                         own
                                             melody
            o f   L o v e
                      A unique symphony
            Her special contribution to this song
                                     
   
   Love gives reason to keep it playing