[2021-03-06] What if you fly?
As a cancer patient, I've learned the lesson to live in the moment and to make the most of the hand I've been dealt. I've internalized the words of my oncologist that ovarian cancer is a tough cancer. I've prepared myself for the possibility of recurrence. I've worked hard to build a legacy through this blog in case I find myself on the wrong side of the statistics. No denial here—just pragmatism mixed with optimism.
I'm like the little girl in Erin Hanson's poem who asks "What if I fall?":
There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask "What if I fall?"
Oh, but my darling,
What if you fly?
In my case, the question on my lips or buried deep in my heart had been: "What if I die?"—a question that made me reluctant to think about the future.
But in the past few days, the breezes of the sky have whispered in reply: "What if you live?"
Perhaps it's seeing my hair return and watching my baby eyelashes grow, but I'm starting to feel like my second life is beginning.
There is freedom waiting for me. What's more, in Act II of my life, I'm not a little girl. I'm a grown woman, with all the wisdom that my 54 years of living have imparted to me. I know that love is the answer, that my talents are meant to be used to make the world a better place, and that my beauty comes from how I make others feel, not how I look.
If you've been afraid to try something because you might fall, ask yourself "What if you fly?"
