A Ray of Hope

Today I was given an opportunity to become a sunbeam in another person’s otherwise cloudy day. 

I’d never met a certain man named Steve who has had lung cancer, melanoma, and now is dealing with leukemia, but today I spoke with him on the phone for quite a long time. We shared our medical histories with cancer and talked about both conventional and unconventional treatments.

I felt a little like a steamroller since I can get pretty excited up on my “alternative” soapbox.  However, I think he could tell I don’t pretend to have all the answers but am simply open to learning about various modalities and sharing them with others.

At least at the end of the conversation he seemed grateful and said he was encouraged.  That got me thinking.  Our western mentality in general, and our medical community in particular, is all about facts and statistics and evidences.  But what good is it to mandate predictions of death in the midst of life?  As long as there is life, there is life – shouldn’t we focus on THAT?  Shouldn’t we recognize, and remind each other, that the human body was created to be self-healing and our job is to support it, and each other?  Shouldn’t we encourage rather than discourage?

I admire this man’s courage; he has not lost the will to fight although he’s been through a lot of suffering.  His body aches with pain every day, all day.  I felt privileged to share a few moments of hope with him.