The day I got the breast cancer diagnosis call on the telephone, it seemed that time stood still. My mind wasn’t wandering; it was specifically locked on to the subject of cancer, treatment and potential bilateral mastectomy. Ugh.
More than ten years later, I am happy to say that there have been many other moments when time seemingly stood still and many of them delicious, positive and uplifting. That’s what I want you to read now; the reminder about the awesome one at a time moments you can experience when you are willing to pay attention to one moment at a time. (For me, this very morning, it was a tiny bird gently lighting upon the branch touching my bedroom window and providing me a gentile wake up tweet.)
The gift of medical treatment is that it provides many moments of opportunities to be in the now. Initially it’s waiting rooms, doctor’s offices, and hospital sitting areas. After treatment, the spectrum is wider and filled with beautiful ‘back to normal’ moments. That’s where we’re going with this.
One of the best post-treatment, creative habits I suggest is pausing or slowing down the rhythm of life long enough to experience, really experience one moment at a time. There’s healing in experiencing the wonder that is all around. I even enjoy my walks more now that I’ve made it a habit to stop each time I cross paths with a dog. Making contact with those brown eyes and the experience of that wagging tail are uplifting components of my day and assets to being in the moment.
One of the best bonuses of this behavior is it gets me out of my ever productive thinking space into the realness of right now. Enough of that thinking, wandering mind and into the moment. I recommend present moment awareness highly. There is so much to be appreciated when we’re just in the moment.
A caution here about dwelling on cancer or the negative ramifications of ‘if only’ thinking. Using thoughts to scare myself is no longer so common as it used to be (although now and then I catch myself in this old, bad habit). Now that I know I can shift the focus to what’s in front of me right now, my life is more peace-filled and that’s what I want for you. Post treatment life can be filled with real delights (as opposed to the imagined fears/thoughts/feelings when thinking takes me or you out of the moment).
The best ticket into the present moment is your conscious breath. It’s easy to do. Just go where you won’t hear the telephone and take 3 deep, conscious breaths. After that, observe what is right there in front of you and appreciate what is right. It’s that simple! (If you notice something that needs cleaning, or tidying or changing, postpone that til later; this is for focus on what’s right.) And, the truth is, the after treatment possibilities are endless one moment at a time.