Peace

As I do every year, I'm wishing a Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate the holiday.

And as I do every year, I'm going to pass on the traditional Christmas wish of Peace on Earth. It's been a tough year for the world, probably even tougher than expected because so many of us thought our lives would be back to "normal" by now. At least in the U.S, it seems like our divisions get deeper and wider all the time, and we're being forced to pick one side or the other, no matter what the issue. I do my best to resist that. It's not easy. 

But it's so necessary to see what we have in common. I feel like cancer patients have an advantage there -- we all share the common experience of having someone say to us, "You have cancer." That experience drills down deep into our souls. All of the other stuff that people want to fight about -- the books we read, the words we use, the people we want to help -- none of that, however different, seems to matter when you both know exactly how it feels to sit in a doctor's office and wonder what the heck you're going to do next, now that you've gotten The News.

And for all of you, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I'm going beyond the traditional wish of Peace on Earth, and wishing you all some inner peace, in mind and soul.

It's been a very difficult year for so many of us -- and even more difficult for a few of us. I've been fortunate to have relatively good health this year, with a few new issues that seem to come with age. My emotional health has been relatively OK, too, though I do miss spending as much time with family and friends as I used to, and I miss having that to look forward to. I don't like having to worry about things that I didn't have to worry about before. 

I saw a friend a couple of weeks ago, someone I hadn't seen in many months. The last time we'd been together, we spent a lot of time talking about our health -- something we seem to do a lot at our age, and with our ailments. When I saw him a couple of weeks ago, he asked how I was feeling. "I'm still here!" I told him. 

I don't want our mere presence to be the kind of low bar that we all aim for. I'm hoping it's more of a defiant cry to the universe -- "Nice try, but you can't get rid of me that easily! I'm still here!"

Whatever your emotional state is, I hope it's a peaceful one -- one that you are satisfied with, even for just one day. 

Take care, everyone. Stay well.