Learning About Life and Truly Living – Lessons from a Dear Friend
In the spring of 2015, I reconnected with a past coworker I hadn’t seen in almost 13 years. She’d heard of my new focus on speaking about positivity and had asked if we could meet for coffee. When I saw her, I commented on how good she looked! She told me she’d lost a bunch of weight in the last few years. As we sat and chatted, she eventually confided in me that she was so thin because she had stage 4 lung cancer!! OMG!
As we continued to talk about her diagnoses and journey with her cancer, I felt a deep connection forming between us. We continued to meet every month or two to talk and share more. I was shocked the day she told me that she saw her cancer as a blessing! She realized that most people probably wouldn’t feel this way, but she said it really changed her view on life, on what’s important, and how she needed to care for her body. I was fascinated by her belief that her cancer was not something to fight, but something to heal. She didn’t like to think of herself as “sick” but instead as “healing.”
My dear friend passed away last week. She had 8 blessed years after her diagnosis, beating the odds with her amazing attitude and the alternative medicine that she was so passionate about. I treasure our incredible times together! I learned so much from her about life and truly living!
This week I turn 50. It seems like the perfect time to reflect on my life so far. How can I add more meaning and joy to my life? How can I remember what’s really important and not waste time and energy on all the “little” things? Are there ways I can take better care of myself?
Consider taking some time this week to really think about these questions for your own life. Let’s not wait for a major event to shake our world.
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Tina Hallis, Ph.D. is Chief Positivity Officer of The Positive Edge, a company dedicated to helping people and organizations increase their positivity to improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures. She is certified in Positive Psychology, an authorized partner for Everything DiSC®, and a Professional Member of the National Speaker’s Association.
