Broken Like Pottery

 When we have cancer, we want to return to something resembling a normal life. This desire motivates us to keep working on getting better. The treatments put stress on our bodies and minds. And after treatments are done, we may not be able to return to work right away because recovery takes time, especially from surgery, and health insurance doesn’t cover this. This creates additional financial stress, especially if we are at risk of losing our jobs or our homes. Health care should not bankrupt us.

Talking to the Trees

 

When a friend received bad news about her cancer, I thought, “I’ll talk to the trees.”

Bear with me for a moment. I used to light candles, think of those who needed support, and prayed. I often still do, but talking to the trees seemed to be the right thing to do here.

Ringing the Bell

 There’s a tradition with cancer that you ring a large brass bell when the doctors say you are cured. It’s a tradition that is thought to have begun in 1996. A great deal of meaning is in this moment because it signals that you can return to your life. It’s also a moment of intense gratitude for the nurses and doctors who have cared for you and worked hard to free you of cancer.

Switching Out a Knee

Having a knee replaced is not fun, but the compassion of the nurses and therapists make the transition to becoming a biomechanical being tolerable. My short essay in Pulse, the medical journal from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

https://pulsevoices.org/stories/the-wonder-of-knees/

Respect and Responsibility

Nurturing Compassion for All Creation

When someone or something we love dies, we grieve.

Right now, half of the country is angry and the other half seems to be gloating.

(Much of this post is something I first published on October 6, 2017.)

In Lauret Savoy’s essay, “The Future of Environmental Essay,” published by Terrain Magazine, she says there are two words we need to remember when we interact with other people, other cultures, and the land: respect and responsibility.