Vincent Van Gogh
Self Portrait
I have been busy with family and was made aware that a post was overdue, so here goes:
Everyone can relate to a much younger age when they wondered who they would be and what they would do when they 'grew up'. At some point in life, the realization that
you're not going to be someone other than who you are arrives, seemingly out of the ether. This is an important epiphany that allows you to make the most of gifts you WERE given, rather than trying to nurture ones you didn't receive. I think most of us would admit to pining for a few genetic pearls received by others, but there is no
double dipping in the DNA pool-you have to make do with what you received.
How do we determine the genetic gifts we did receive? It seems we often don't value the things we do well or even our own admirable qualities, perhaps because we find it 'too easy'. There is a tendency to value
that which we can't do, and to some extent devalue or even ignore
things we can do, typically with minimal effort.
Listen to your gut, not your head, when trying to figure out who you really are inside. Realizing who you are may be one of the first big steps in understanding what you value, and hence what you should do with your life. Perhaps one of the more important things we ever do. A lot of life can be wasted in a fool's errand of trying to remake yourself into someone else. The sooner you stop/avoid doing that, the better.
Q: What does any of this have to do with cancer treatment?
A: Figuring out who you are eliminates one more hurdle in the course of a cancer struggle. Seems it is best to reduce headwinds and resistance as much as possible in the battle against this scourge.
Q: Why the picture of Van Gogh?
A: Maybe he could be the poster child for 'lack of self-awareness', albeit likely related to severe mental illness. Poor guy.
It is never too late to discover who you are.
PS chemo treatment #5 of 6 scheduled for 8/11
