Living with Cancer

I do not believe in Mysticism
Of any source or definition.
Going beyond that to whether or not
I am a Non Believer, Agnostic, or Atheist,
I leave that to the confusions of dictionary definitions,
And the writings of others
Who wish to spend their precious time in the endeavor.

However, I do believe that I, and all humans
Are of BodyMindHeartSoul –
With absolutely no separation between any aspect of them
My definitions of those four reside in my earlier writings
Of my other Blog Site: BreatheFree –
If anyone is curious enough about them

I have Cancer

Believing in the Harmony of the Human Spirit
Illness is an indignity to my Body.
A cruelty to my Mind
An atrocity to my Heart
A savagery to my Soul
A perversion to my Spirit..

One could think like that
And I am quite sure
that almost all of us
Upon hearing the dreaded word Cancer
Myself included
Initially might have had such thoughts

I have had Prostate Cancer for 24 years.

One would think
Living with any kind of Cancer,
Would cause a life of Disharmony.
That just the word Cancer
Can enslave us in fear!
Except for one factor
The Human Spirit!

I like the word Spirit
As in “that person has Spirit”.
Or, “although they tried
To break his body and mind,
They never broke his Spirit”!

But over millennia, the word has been used to describe
Disembodied beings or used in various Religious definitions,
Both of which my BodyMindHeartSoul rejects.

What then to call that presence of individuals,
Who precede their Body by ten feet or more,
Whose presence fills a room
And remains with others after leaving them,
Or after leaving Life?

For want of a better word and as not to confuse
It with Occult or Religious uses of Soul and Spirit,
One could call these parts of us, the Essence of Humanity.
But being obstinate of Mind and finding inadequacies with either word,
I wish to reclaim both Soul and Spirit in Human terms.

For to me, Spirit and Soul are two inseparable parts of the Human Condition
As they are inseparable from the Human Body, Mind and Heart
All of which have evolved and grown over the many millennia,
And further – working in Harmony –will continue that process
Of evolution and growth far into the future

So Spirit I use to mean that unyielding part of us,
That in purpose and Joy can never be controlled or conquered,
And Soul to mean that part of us that beholds the Universe
With a sense of Awe, Wonder, Curiosity and Love,
And responds to all of its Grandeur
With the awesome totality of Human Creativity and Accomplishment

Having been born in 1929,
I have been writing off and on since I was 14.
Never as creatively as now, and as I expect to do so
For many years to come

As for my Cancer, all I can say is:
It has led me down so many paths
To remarkable people, avenues of health
And a total life changing self-reflection of my Human Spirit
Paths I may never have taken without my Buddy.

Yes I have looked at Cancer as a Buddy.
After all it’s been my constant companion for 24 years
Though a very dangerous Buddy for sure
I can’t explain it beyond that
Nor do I have any desire to do so!

OTHER VOICES: – REV. SAFIRE ROSE “SHE LET GO”

When you find beauty and truth, you want the whole world to know it,
which is why I’ve re-blogged this from Safire Rose.
Read on – Beauty and Truth need no further explanation.

“She let go.
Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry,
She just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.

She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word.
She just let go.

No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree,
She just let go.

There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.”

LIVING HARMONIOUSLY

Is the pristine Beauty
Of the untouched Tree
More exquisite than the products
Humans fashions from them?

Only if Human’s efforts
Are not touched with
A sense of Beauty
Whatever the construct be.
For all of Human endeavor
Must partly be that of the Artist
To enhance the self essence of Life

All turns of an Artisan’s hand
Whatever the craft or tool
Held within the prehensile grasp
Axe or saw, plane or chisel
Pen, brush or conductor’s baton
Must lead to the Beautiful
Realization of dormant dreams

There can be no halfway house
Never a return to primordial waters,
The boughs of trees,
(If that be our starting point)
Or the stalagmite filled cave

For we are now touched with the Beauties
and creativity of Thought
So the Tree gives birth
To more than the works
of a carpenter’s hands

Architecture, sculpture
And various forms of musical instrumentation
To name but a few.
Each Beautiful in its own right
And that most powerful of all Tree’s gifts,
Paper, giver of life to books, journals and
multitudes of notations – all being avenues,
For the expressions of the Human mind.

As to the opening question, I ponder:

The pristine beauty of the untouched Tree
From the towering redwood and giant sequoia
To the gentle grace of the Japanese maple
Are the Universe’s creations
Each having a beauty singular to its species.

From little mountain streams
To the dizzying depths and expanses
Of water etched canyons
To the far edges of the night sky
The Universe gives us so much
To think on, wonder, explore, enjoy
And Beauties beyond anything
We Humans can replicate.

So let us not debate the undebatable
Instead, we would honor the creations of the Universe
As we would honor ours.
It’s called living harmoniously,
Not only with ourselves, but with the Universe

The two are not in disparity
Contrary to those who would make it so.
So honor both Universe Creations
And live harmoniously within one’s self.