Peace

Sometimes I write a message on this day, Christmas Day. I know many of you celebrate and many don't. I do. But the message I like to send on this day is one that, I hope, is appropriate no matter what faith one follows, if any.  

As I've said in the past, there are lots of phrases and greetings associated with Christmas. You see them on gift tags and bags, on cards, on posters in stores. Of all of them, my favorite has always been "Peace on Earth." It's usually a wish, a desire, rather than an observation. This year is no different. Maybe even worse than usual -- there's so much division in the world. Some people can't even agree on which greeting to use for Christmas. And that's not even considering the war and violence going on in the world, and the division that happens as a result, thousands of miles away from it. 

This is a tough time to find peace.

And my message on this day usually connects that desire for peace on earth with a need for peace inside ourselves. That hasn't changed. In fact, with so much going on outside of us, there's probably a greater need for peace inside of us. Stress takes its toll on a cancer patient. We all need a break. Now more than ever.

After almost 16 years of living with Follicular Lymphoma, I wish I had some better words of wisdom than I do. But it seems like the wiser I get, the harder the problems around me seem to get. 

I just re-read that last paragraph, and I corrected a word I had misspelled -- I had said "After almost 16 years of loving with Follicular Lymphoma." And I suppose that's true, too. I've been doing my best to spread some love for all of that time. It's strange how writing a blog post about radioimmunotherapy or tazemetostat can be an act of love, but here we are.

And I suppose that's the message, in the end. When it comes to living with Lymphoma, we need to find our own path to inner peace. I've always believed that we each need to live our lives as cancer patients in the way that makes most sense to us. Our path to inner peace has to be our own path. It needs to make sense to us.

So on this day, my biggest wish for you is that you find your path to peace, whatever it might be. 

And maybe, if enough of us find our own peace, it makes the world just a little more peaceful. Not entirely peaceful -- I'm nothing if not a realist. Just a little more peaceful. I'll be happy with that.

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it. Happy holidays to those of you who celebrate other days, weeks, and months this time of year. 

And peace to all of you.