Shared from the incredible Niki Hardy (www.nikihardy.com).
It's often difficult for those dealing with critical illness to ask for help. But it sure is worth the risk. One of the blessings of an otherwise tragic circumstance is that your eyes can be opened to the goodness that is all around you.
Keeping Moving, Living Wide Teams, Hiking for Hope
Just how many items can you have on a bucket list? I haven't been able to find any particular rules or regulations on the topic. But this one definitely makes the top of the list. I've never seen such a beautiful place to hike. The mountains! The water! The sky! And three of my favorite people in the world whose pictures are in the dictionary when you look up Living Wide. These folks know how to do it. My heart just sings when I look at these pictures. Thanks Angela, Andres, and Maela! You guys rock!
The whole family went to the Alliance Theatre this afternoon to see their 50th anniversary production of Winnie-the-Pooh. The audience was close to three quarters young folks and, while a bit noisy at times, it was fun watching the play through their eyes. And I was reacquainted with the wonderful simplicity and innocence of Pooh. One of my favorite exchanges:
"We'll be friends forever, won't we Pooh?" asked Piglet.
"Even longer," Pooh answered.
Forever is an unsettling idea when you tend to measure the value and quality of life by its length. But when you focus on the width of your life, you open a new dimension without limits. A channel through which you can pack so much joy and meaning into each and every day that the idea of forever is transformed into something magical. A measure that is both infinite and can be experienced compacted into each and every moment of our lives. Pooh and his colleagues in the Hundred Acre Wood are far smarter than most give them credit for. And that is what has always made them special to generation after generation.
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Annie Dillard
I got together with friends last night for some fellowship and a drink or two. I immensely enjoyed myself. Earlier in the week, I spent a few days with a best buddy working in the woodshop on projects for our families. Great fun. In both cases, I thought how much I treasured each of these chances to be with friends...how much I loved everyone of them...with a poignancy sharpened by my terminal diagnosis 18 months ago. Its not, I thought, that the others took friends for granted, but rather that each interaction was a smaller part of their expected lifetime. Maybe. Who can know? But as Annie Dillard reminds, these moments spent with those that mean a lot to us, make up how we live our days, and how we live our lives. Prioritizing these opportunities for fun and laughter with our buddies is an important strategy for Living Wide, regardless of one's prognosis for longevity. Filling our days with smiles, with joy, and with gratitude for those that share those days with us, without regard for how many days we may have remaining, will afford us lives that are as wide as they can possibly be.
Keeping Moving, Living Wide Teams
This threesome of great friends and running partners have set out to run across the South (and they may not stop there) while spreading the Living Wide message. They've run nearly a dozen races so far! They've adopted our philosophy, in both sense of the word adopted. They are truly living it! And they have built their unofficial team around delivering the Living Wide message wherever they go. And we love it! Let's make it official. Meet the first Living Wide running team! Don't you and a couple of friends want to join them? Running, walking, hiking, climbing, biking...whatever suits you. Just get out there, keep moving, and Live Wide!
A lifetime is a moment
a heartbeat,
or if you're lucky — a few.
Live every blade of grass
Soar with your wings while
you still can fly.
Taste every fleeting second
Bloom towards the infinite sky.
Terri Guillemets, "Lifebloom," 2011
The shortness of our lives, whether truncated by critical illness or not, sometimes robs us of today. While we are busy worrying about the end of our life, to come at some uncertain point in the future, we miss opportunities for joy in the present. Living Wide is about filling every day with meaningful experiences that swell our hearts. That make us laugh. That make us love and feel loved.
Live every blade of grass. Soar while you can still fly. Taste every fleeting second. In the face of the profound uncertainty that we all share, its the only strategy that makes any sense.
With credit to the amazingly courageous Ray Newt.
The incomparable cancer advocate, Chris Draft, whose beautiful wife passed away from lung cancer shortly after they were married, loves to say, “we have to love on our own.” We have to make sure they feel loved. By “our own,” Chris means lung cancer survivors, breast cancer survivors, colon cancer survivors, critical heart patients...you get the point. Anyone struggling with a life threatening diagnosis. AND all of those that care for these warriors and struggle through their own battle. My own journey has been defined by the goodness of people that have been everywhere I’ve looked. Old friends, new friends, family, fellow survivors, doctors and clinicians, caretakers...even strangers. I have been buoyed up by an abundant love that, like Chris, I want everyone to experience. It’s imperative. Only the goodness and love of others can make the survivor’s journey bearable. Or dare I say a blessing? That is what Living Wide is all about. Hope for everyone. Joy and grace for everyone. A smile and a hand whenever needed. Join us. And spread the word. We need everyone to make this work. Forging relationships and building community. We’re just getting launched, but check back regularly...there’s much more to come.
Beautiful, awesome people are popping up Living Wide everywhere! Get your official Living Wide t-shirt while you can and join this growing movement!
On Saturday, May 5th, Lungevity, the nation's leading lung cancer-focused non-profit, held one of it's famous grassroots events in Atlanta, the Breathe Deep Atlanta 5K. More than 200 people turned out to run, have fun, and raise money for lung cancer research. The Living Wide team was there in force, with more than 25 humans, and 3 dogs showing our support. Living Wide led overall team fundraising, with right at $11,000, led individual fundraising with right at $6,000, and took both first place male finisher and first place female finisher. Most importantly, we enjoyed a beautiful day, got to meet some wonderful people, and were part of the larger group that raised almost $45,000 to push towards a cure!
How did it get so late so soon?
It's night before it's afternoon.
December is here before it's June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss is famous for being a children's author but offering something for everyone. Likewise, this question, "How did it get so late so soon?" is not just for those with life-threatening illnesses. We will all ponder it at some point in our lives. And that's why Living Wide is not just for some of us, but all of us. Live wide, brothers and sisters! And encourage everyone around you to do the same.
