The Wake-up Call
There is one comment, made up of three little words, that has the power to stop you in your tracks and change the course of your life forever--“you have cancer.” Although we’ve come a long way and found several cures for different forms of cancers, hearing those words still makes you feel like you’ve been given an expiration notice. And in a way, you have. Yet, this expiration notice carries with it the hallmark of a wake-up call.
It's the wake-up call to remind you to start living your life to its fullest potential. To stop holding onto grudges, hurt feelings, and regrets. It’s the pink slip which reminds you to stop taking life for granted and instead reach out for that gold ring…forget reaching for the brass ring—go for it all…because life doesn’t last forever regardless of whether you’re sick or healthy. Those three little words are a heavenly wake-up call to stop waiting till tomorrow or some future date when you have “the time” or “the money” or whatever other excuse…I mean reason…you use to keep yourself from actually pursuing your fullest potential of joy, love, and happiness.
Have you ever heard the old adage, “everyone dies, but not everyone lives?” It speaks to the fact that we hold onto past hurts, grudges, insecurities, and fears which keep us from embracing the full power of living. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow’s out of your control, yet today you have the ability to choose how you wish to live. To love boldly. To embrace possibilities. To enjoy new adventures and claim your legacy. To consciously choose how you’ll spend this day…this moment.
Use the words, “you have cancer” as your wake-up call. Let go of those old grudges and hurt feelings that do nothing but fill you with pain and regret. Replace them with new choices which work in your favor. It’s never too late to embrace new possibilities and adventures. Hey, you’re not died yet, you’re still here, you’re still able to choose how you want to live your life and who you want to share it with. Create the legacy you wish to leave behind; whether that legacy is as someone who was loved or a deed done, a book written, a story told.
What will you do with your wake-up call? How will you consciously choose to create your today? I invite you to share your choices with us. Let us know how you: boldly…or shyly…grasped that golden ring; what new adventures you explored; how you share your love without reservation because you discovered that love is a gift you give to yourself, and others merely benefit from it. Together, we can change the world if we choose to.
Dr. Charley Ferrer is a world-renowned Empowerment Speaker & Breast Cancer Advocate. She is the award-winning author and playwright of Breast Cancer Diaries. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, she established the Cancer Tamer Foundation. Dr. Charley conducts various workshops and educational programs on living and thriving despite cancer. Her Radical Hope Workshop Series provides participants with cancer and other chronic conditions with valuable information on how to take control of their lives and health and enjoy a more fulfilling and rewarding life. www.CancerTamer.org.
Email your comments and questions to info@cancerTamer.org