Personal Reflections: Cancer, Healing, and a New Source of Support

I don’t often enough slow down, catch my breath, and share personal behind-the-blogger thoughts and glimpses of my life, so today I’m making time in Personal Reflections: Cancer, Healing, and a New Source of Support.

Michele of Hello Lovely Studio

Maybe you need to hear these words

I’m typing stream-of-consciousness style.

Maybe you need to somehow

feel joined on your journey.

We both know that while interior design, renovation,

and creative projects are blogworthy fun

and pleasant paths for our attention,

there are far more valuable matters…

My father is the holiest human I have ever known and the most loving caregiver as well.

My parents just flew home to Arizona after visiting with us

for a few weeks, and this was an important trip

since my mom has not been healthy enough to

travel for two years.

It has been nearly five years since she received

a breast cancer diagnosis, and since that time,

many more challenges.

BRCA2 genetic mutation, colon cancer, melanoma,

and osteoporosis joined her life and ours.

She can’t easily feed herself or walk, and

her new normal continues to be successive

doctor appointments, procedures, and treatments.

But do you know what else joined her?

My mom took baby steps through the garden, and then we would rest…a metaphor?

Joy. Gratitude. Healing.

Not beer and skittles joy.

Not ‘I’m just happy to be alive’ gratitude.

And not ‘full, miraculous recovery’ healing.

Rather, the joy looks like: a renewed sense of wonder,

contentment, and easy laughter in spite of pain.

The gratitude presents as profound thankfulness for

baby birds hatching just outside her window.

And the healing…the healing has come

tenderly, in the absence of cure, friends.

I paused to commune with this wounded, pruned part of a tree in the magnificent gardens.

To experience such healing is to glimpse

eternity, feel transformed by a holy force,

and taste the sweetness of a lighter realm

of reality…it’s what I desire on my own

journey and for humanity.

Mom has been in constant pain for years now,

yet has leaned into grace more times than I can count.

In such utter vulnerability, her heart has opened to

the ultimate healing: a healing of spirit.

You cannot be caught up in a loved one’s

healing without feeling your own spirit

transform, and this is the part of the

cancer story I find impossibly gorgeous…

as superficial layers of self fall away,

the raw and true diamond beneath

begins to glimmer with beauty.

There is pain, but it’s never wasted!

The transformation never stops with the patient.

Others are drawn into sparkling beauty,

and their diamonds begin to surface too.

Then, as the light reflects and refracts

from the collective sacred prisms

(all linked by a relentless disease

and love for each other),

well, I think this may be the most

lifegiving sort of healing I know.

My parents, my son, and I were swept up in beauty, watching these ducklings frantically follow mama into the shrubs.

Is this language too mystical?

It’s what I speak now when I’m wide awake,

and friends, it’s so tempting to go to sleep

and sleepwalk through the pain and suffering

around us and in us, but I encourage you

to open your eyes wide and SEE that

there is nothing to fear and so much

healing waiting for you.

An incredible product I found at aHealingSpirit.org that makes a perfect gift.

A new source of support on the web for folks with

cancer, chronic illness, anxiety, or grief

has surfaced on the horizon, and I am

excited to introduce you to

A Healing Spirit,

an amazing site founded by

Carol Cassara.

Here’s the full story about Carol’s

work and how her products
and services are changing the
landscape of recovery.

These three words:
a healing spirit

are resonating deeply

within my heart this very moment.

Thank you for reading me

and encouraging me for

so many years as I have

muddled through

seeking light

and wisdom.

I would love to hear from you if you have a moment!

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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16 Comments

  1. June 25, 2017 / 4:12 pm

    Thank you. I understand this, feel this and pass it back. Lovely.

    • June 25, 2017 / 4:37 pm

      how lovely of you to say and offer. peace to you, friend.

  2. June 25, 2017 / 5:58 pm

    My prayers and love go out to you and your family. Thank you for sharing as usual.

    • June 25, 2017 / 6:04 pm

      Thanks so much, Katherine. We covet your prayers and feel upheld in support always. 🙂

  3. June 25, 2017 / 11:34 pm

    Oh Michele! My heart aches for your Mom and your whole family. You are such brave and loving souls. Thank you for sharing your story of healing and grace.
    xoxoxo
    Holly

    • June 26, 2017 / 1:42 am

      let your heart be light, beautiful holly! we have true joy just like you. 🙂

  4. June 26, 2017 / 7:30 pm

    Such a beautiful post! I appreciate your transparency.

    • June 26, 2017 / 9:19 pm

      thanks so much for the kind words. 🙂

  5. June 27, 2017 / 2:53 am

    I continue to be confused, I almost died last November and I still don't know why I didn't. I am happy for my family that I didn't die, but since I believe in an afterlife with all my heart I wonder if I am better off. Obviously God needs me here, I don't know why, and I often feel living is harder…..

    • June 27, 2017 / 3:33 am

      Well, I am glad you're still with us, Donna. We all have darkish days, and I'm glad you have faith. Hang in there. The affirmation cards and journaling I mention in my post "A Healing Spirit" may bring you some hope. I'm praying for you just now, friend.

  6. June 29, 2017 / 1:55 pm

    Joy looks different as we age…..and it looks different after suffering. Somehow, it seems more real, truer, to me. Not that I didn't have true joy before, but, perhaps now, the joy matches the revelations of a more experienced heart. I like where I am in my mid 40's. And I like the joy I feel.

    • June 30, 2017 / 12:19 am

      So beautiful! Thanks for adding to the beauty here.

    • Anonymous
      July 4, 2017 / 4:08 pm

      I was just diagnosed with a brain tumor, purely by accident. Had no idea. alot of people say I have just started by journey but sometimes I don't think I am built for the journey. My first scan showed no improvement an I have another one coming up this month
      All the meds and radiation take its tole on your body, which I am sure you all know. Ihave deep faith, good family and friends supporting me, but they can't take it away. I need some feeling of hope. Sorry to sound like a winer, but I am not in a good place. Vicki

    • July 4, 2017 / 9:48 pm

      Thanks for your courage and vulnerability in adding to the beauty of this discussion, Vicki. You have honored us. It can be hard to be at the beginning of the journey and it often takes distance from the pain before we cas reflect on beauty. There are days we lose hope. Days our faith is weak. But that trustworthy LOVE energy, holding everything together, somehow mysteriously teaching us that everything belongs (the joy AND the sorrow), is where we can draw strength and peace. In my own struggles, I find I am asked to put on a new mind, shed my prior self, and see with brand new eyes through a divine filter I only now have access to. Be gentle with yourself. All I can offer is a prayer and maybe a little hope that all will be well with your soul, that deepest part of you which none of these earthly woes may harm (not even doubt or temporary hopelessness).

    • Anonymous
      July 5, 2017 / 6:52 pm

      Michele, what beautiful words you write and you give me courage and comfort. I do have to look at things through a new divine filter, and I do. I need to understand this is a new way of life right now. I just hope there is reason to hope and it is hard not to give up and be angry and lost. Thank you for your prayers, Vicki

    • July 5, 2017 / 7:13 pm

      Oh, Vicki, thank YOU. You are recycling your pain into beauty, right here in this space. Honored to pray for you. xox

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Let’s SHOP!

White Slipcovered Sofa
SHOP MY HOME!
29″ Whitewashed Table Lamp Set of 2
White Matelasse Quilt on MY BED
SHOP MY BATH!
Trees White Wallpaper Mural
Round Farmhouse Table
Myla Slipcover Sofa
Deconstructed Wingback Bed
French Farmhouse Dining Table
Milagro Heart
Slipcovered Dining Chair
Rustic Farmhouse Stool
Edgecombe End Table
Parisian Style Iron Table Lamp  33.5″
Black or Bronze Accent Table
French Stripe Basket Set
White Cotton Crochet Bed Skirt
French Country Rattan Basket Set
Marble Subway Mosaic Tile
Rattan Basket With Lid
White Ruffle Bedding
Seagrass Basket Set
Schumacher Wild Things Wallpaper
Slipcovered Sofa
Upholstered Dining Arm Chair
Shop My Breakfast Nook
White Matelasse Quilt
Tree Mural Wallpaper
Faux Potted French Lavender
Shaw Daybed
Distressed White French Country Chandelier
French Country Headboard
Oval Back Counter Stool, Set of 2
Antique Brass Pharmacy Floor Lamp
Round French Tufted Ottoman
Kinston Wood Bench
Italian Candelabra Chandelier
Slipcovered Linen Chair
Warner Upholstered Bench
Rustic Country French Dresser
Laurel Wreath Mirror
Round Farmhouse Dining Table
Reclaimed Wood Dresser
Louis Upholstered Bench
Pardon My French Doormat
Stripe Turkish Towel Throw
Pamela Arm Chair
Sweater Weave Basket
French Carved Wood Chandelier
Terracotta Pots & Basket
French Country Wood Chandelier
French Linen Dining Chair
Gustavian Cabinet
French Farmhouse Dining Table
Bar Stool
Beachy White Slipcovered Sofa
Rattan Armchair
Diptyque Oyedo Candle
Cross Back Dining Chair
French Country Candle Holder
French Industrial Metal Chairs (4)
Designer Favorite Wall Mirror
Holborn Lantern Pendant
French Country 6-Light Chandelier
Tray Side Table
French Country Upholstered Arm Chair
Wicker Trunk Set
French Ticking Stripe Pillow
Jute Area Rug
Mohair Throw
Rustic Industrial Farmhouse Shelves
Belgian Linen Sofa
White Duvet & Bedding
Rustic Wood Candlestick Set
French Market Basket
Linen Modern Wing Chair
French Country Farmhouse Baskets
Concrete Pillar Table Lamp
Boheme Madera Bench
Belgian Style Lamp
Kendall Skirted Dining Chair
White Charleston Sofa
Scrubbed Wood 5-Light Chandelier
Arched Champagne Wall Mirror
Moravian Star 1-Light Pendant
Highback Armchair
Mini Pendant Light
White Vase Set
Round Woven Placemat Set
Cashmere Throw With Fringe
Wreath Doormat
Fireclay Farm Sink (Reinhard, 30″)
White Waffle Coverlet
Light Grey Vienna Quilt
Boheme Madera Bench
Belgian Linen Duvet Set
Round Marble Side Table
Rustic Pedestal Farm Table
Rattan Hanging Chair Swing