Learning
without reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is
dangerous.
- Confucius
Today
was a day to do some reflecting. I could sleep a little later, read a
little more and not have to traverse the 7 mountains and 7 valleys.
It felt good. A relief from the pressure of this treatment process
I'm experiencing.
I
wrote some emails to catch up with a few people. I still have more to
write. I had a very uplifting phone call from my friend Hayley from
the Veteran Speakers event that I was coordinating at the beginning
of this new adventure. While the vast majority of the people I know
still don't know about my current circumstance, it's nice to receive
a phone call and hear another human voice, even though we may be
separated by hundreds of miles.
I
find that when the phone rings and it's not a “robocall” trying
to sell me something or scam me, it really helps me reflect on times
past when that voice entered my life. My old high school friend, Art
surprised me one day. We were emailing back and forth when all of a
sudden the phone rang. I picked it up and a voice said, “Do you
know who this is?” I instantly recognized Art's voice. There is
something comforting and personal in the human voice. I call it
ancient technology. Ancient because, other than letter and note
writing, actually speaking to another human on the phone or in-person
seems to have become somewhat of a lost art.
Today,
I spent some time just reflecting on my life. Yesterday, I revisited
the horse ranch I so very much enjoyed living on with the horses (and
deer, foxes, raccoons, black snakes, hawks, an occasional eagle and
assorted other wildlife). I also had two serendipities that brought
back more pleasant memories.
My
reflections today focused more on how really great my life has
been, especially when it came to my health. I certainly had my share
of medical issues during my life. I had most of the childhood
diseases like measles, mumps, whooping cough, chickenpox and so on.
And, about 42 years ago I had a case of the flu. It was pretty rough.
My temperature got up to about 104 or 105 degrees and I hurt all
over.
In
September of 2002 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It turned out
to be a very aggressive case. However, I chose to have it surgically
removed. Seventeen years later, I'm a survivor and won't ever have a
problem with that form of cancer again. Unfortunately, several
friends have succumbed to prostate cancer.
It's
also interesting as I was reflecting today that I ate brunch this
past Tuesday at a restaurant in Winchester that didn't exist 17 years
ago. But, as Dave and I sat at an outdoor table, we were sitting
right in front of a storefront window that used to be a medical
uniform shop for nurses. Back then, the shop was owned by my friend
Pat. Pat was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the same week I was
diagnosed. I'm still here. Pat's life ended about 90 days later.
About
8 years ago, a tiny deer tick bit me on the back of the leg. I didn't
even know the little thing had bitten me, it was so small. But, it left
me with a pretty serious case of Lyme Disease. Fortunately, I figured
it out pretty quick. I got to my doctor, they recognized it and
starting me on an aggressive course of Doxycycline, the gold standard
for fighting Lyme Disease. I've had no further problems from that.
However, the adult son of a friend of mine became infected with Lyme
Disease. He did not follow the prescribed course of treatment. While
the specific cause of his death was not determined, the question
remains as to whether the tiny deer tick that bit him may have been
the perpetrator.
Of
course, there are many other things I reflected on, I mainly looked
at those that were medical in nature. And, now, here I am again. This
time it's another form of cancer. There were all kinds of
opportunities and reasons that I should not be surviving as I am
writing this article. And, yet, here I am. I can only believe that my
time, my mission, my purpose is not yet fulfilled in this life.
I
keep telling everyone I'm on a 46-year plan. I might not make it to
the end of that plan, but I'm sure looking forward to living a lot
more years to do my best to positively impact my family, friends and
the planet. I hope you do some reflecting from time to time. And, I
hope you have a long-term life plan, too.
Live
free and be happy. EH
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