Articles in the Most Inspirational Category
Marion’s Garden of Hope
Last year’s garden was bleak,
A few annuals were all she could do,
Mammograms and Lumpectomies, Radiation and Reconstruction
They took up most of her time.
This year’s sun is stronger and brighter,
She’s planting perennials now.
Gaillardia and Primula, Rudbeckia and Hosta,
Perennials for all those years to come!
I wrote that poem in 2007. It was written about my wife’s battle with Breast Cancer. Her mental strength through life’s tests, not just dealing with her Cancer, is what keeps me going. Death of an [ ... ]
Bravest Hearts, Family Matters, Getting On with Your Life, Love Letters, Most Inspirational, Smiling through the Tears
Robin’s Smile
She can’t clap with just one hand,
She can’t click her heels with just one leg,
But Oh, how she can smile!
Picture yourself meditating,
Calmed, refreshed.
Then you hear that tiny bell,
That’s Robin’s smile.
This is not specifically about Cancer; it’s about overcoming any adversity, overcoming it with grace. My wife and I were attending a 6 week workshop on living with a chronic condition. In the class was a young lady living with a condition which requires daily home dialysis, a condition [ ... ]
Bravest Hearts, Lessons Learned, Most Inspirational
Our latest home prompt really brought back memories:
Were you ever in a contest or competition? What prompted you to participate? What made the experience meaningful to you?
In 1983 I ran the Boston Marathon.
It all started in 1977. I was 48 years old, one year shy of the age of my father when he died of a heart attack. Frightened because he and both of his sisters all died before 50 of heart problems, I started jogging, [ ... ]
Class Reports, Family Matters, Healing and Feeling, Mind-Mending Journeys, Most Inspirational, Personal Experience
We had 30 again yesterday at Mission. Lots of interest in the flier, too. Good idea to pass it out there. People came from Costa Mesa, San Juan Capistrano, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Whittier and Fullerton. I had them sign their names and emails. Those towns are just the ones I remember. Probably many more. Really mixed group–some patients, some caregivers, some with nothing to do with illness, a woman writing a book, others with anger [ ... ]
Class Reports, Most Inspirational
James Cremin’s documentary about the writing class at the City of Hope in Duarte, California based on Julie Davey’s book Writing for Wellness: A Prescription for Healing. Video after the cut.