I got some great news today.
I had a biopsy a week ago and found out today the skin sample is benign.
I’ve never had a benign biopsy before so this is… a happy shock. A bit of “so this is what other people feel like” tinged with “finally!”
There is a side of me that remembers friends and family members who never got to hear benign, only malignant. Somehow I think they would rejoice with me, too, as I would if the tables were turned.
It has been quite a journey. I recognized after the last biopsy I put a lot of my life on hold after my initial melanoma diagnosis, buried in the “What if” the cancer comes back or I don’t heal right or any other scenario my mind concocted.
I decided sometime between last week and this week I wasn’t going to hang out in that side of the “what if” zone, I was going to choose to hang out in the “feeling peace no matter which side the test falls on.”
I was fully expecting this result to say something different and I had thought of different health strategies this time, too.
“Let go, let it be” has become my new mantra and my new way of being.
Choosing to stand for peace within myself no matter what else is swirling about - to the best of my abilities. I get more tangled up, for example, in a loved one’s suicide attempt than a famous person’s suicide and other people’s opinions. I can’t impact other people’s opinions.
I can impact the life of those I love while letting go, letting it be and standing for peace. Even greater news than my great news is you can use this tactic, this concept, this recipe - in order to simply feel better about whatever is going on in your life right now.
I can almost hear you asking right now, "So, what do I do?"
- Choose to experience whatever you are experiencing without slapping labels of good or bad or right or wrong or excellent or holy or remarkable. Look instead at what facts are there. "The sky is blue. My son doesn't look me in the eye yet without cueing him. I feel itchy underneath my right knee."
- Recognize any feelings of attachment (the opinions and stuff you make up about whatever is happening) and imagine releasing those opinions as if they were a helium balloon bouquet or the head of a dandelion you've just blown to bits or, if you are very tactile, imagine putting all of that stuff into your fist and clench it as tight as you can. Count to ten and then open it slowly and blow it all away as you open it up. Repeat as necessary.
- Give yourself permission to talk about whatever is bothering you in twitter sized chunks - as in twitter, the social media platform that started as a micro-blogging application. When you talk to your friends (family, whomever) instead of a rant, give them 140 characters worth of what is bugging you and then choose to let it go. Choose to let it be. You don't need to rant for thirty minutes. Rant for a sentence. They'll probably listen more carefully when you are so succinct.
- Remember, peace is always among the choices you have at your disposal. If the other suggestions elude you, simply meditating on the word "peace" throughout your day will make a difference. First you need to choose to focus on peace, no matter what else happens.
I got some great news today.
What great news did you get?
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Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist. Coming soon - more creativity camps, playgrounds and workshops to grow yourself artistically (and hey, just for fun!)
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