To all: My husband Robert, the love of my life – my heart and soul – died on August 20. He fought a difficult battle for 2.5 years with gastric cancer. He is now healed and suffers no longer. This blog will continue in some form, when I am healed enough to write, as he […]
I had a PET scan this past Monday. My lay interpretation of the text results posted by that evening sounded positive to me. Yesterday I met with my oncologist for his professional read. He confirmed my initial impressions that compared the November 2018 and July 2019 scan results: the metastasis in my bone is “grossly” […]
I enjoy reading the works of folks who have lived the problems they address. For example, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote his book on Ethics in part from the inside of a concentration camp where he was imprisoned and executed in 1945 for his part in a plot to assassinate Hitler. The book Alcoholics Anonymous speaks to […]
My Friday morning book study recently read Robert Johnson’s Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche. Following Carl Jung, Johnson (1993:4) defines the shadow as ” . . . that part of us we fail to see or know.” One of the study group members commented that their experience with AA […]
I often comment that a key to my addiction recovery is living life on life’s terms. I find the same is true with cancer and whatever else is going on with my physical state these days. The fluid on my lungs and related issues cause me to be short of breath for any activity other […]
Sunday afternoon I was sitting on the back porch when Emma called to me and said a friend had dropped by with a gift. I went inside and was presented with a copy of the Garden Log Book: A 5-Year Planner. The contents include worksheets to plan and record 5 years worth of planting, chores, […]
The past couple of months have not been my best physically, but the future looks good. Specifically: The last few rounds of chemotherapy have brought me face-to-face with some of the worst effects “chemo brain” and fatigue. In reality, I don’t think the effects were a lot worse than the first rounds, but there was […]
I have stage 4 cancer . . . . . . and I was supposed to be dead a year ago . . . . . . but today I kissed and hugged my wife good morning And went through my morning rituals of reflection and insight And drank rich coffee and ate fried eggs […]
Over the past year I have had several wonderful conversations with my friend Paige about her Jewish faith. My journey is enhanced by incorporating the basic tenets of all three Abrahamic faiths: Jew, Islam, and Christian – along with a healthy dose of other traditions. Paige recently sent me a book Judaism’s 10 Best Ideas: […]
The past few days were a bit trying. I began my second regimen of chemo last week and hoped for fewer side effects. In fact, the effects are less. But I really wanted no effects to get my spirit and body back to a “normal” function. Though nausea is greatly reduced, I have pain that […]
Yes DW. Intellectually I don’t have a problem with this. And, strangely, I mean intellectually in a spiritually sense in that I understand and appreciate the spiritual implications of truly loving your fellow human being. I understand about being concerned for their welfare and, above all, their soul, that this spirit is a necessity for us as Christians, but I often fall woefully short. I’m sorry to admit this.
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