When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I immediately looked at things differently. Cancer changes your perspective on life. Instead of planning long range goals, vacations, trips, and future events you find yourself learning to focus on the moment. When you shift your focus from "then" to "now"...you're able to see a little more clearly.
I'm an avid photographer. I love pulling out my cameras and deciding what the subject of my next photograph will be. I take great care in planning the composition, checking the lighting, and finding the right exposure. I have a specific goal in mind before I even begin to shoot; and I can visualize the outcome of the final print...but the world looks very differently through the lens of Cancer.
Looking through the lens of Cancer, I am forced to view every aspect of life as precious. I no longer take the mundane things of daily life for granted. Every touch, every smile, every call, every visit mean so much more to me now. Why is it that we don't understand the fragility of life until we are faced with our own mortality?
Sometimes we go through life like we have all the time in the world. But what if tomorrow with your loved one isn’t guaranteed? This year I realized how fragile life is. Now I look at every day as a gift. The knowledge of how delicate life is, of how easily life can end, punctuates every aspect of my life. Once it felt like I had all the time in the world to make my dreams come true. Now, I try to live my dreams every day because I don’t know what the future holds.
A diagnosis of a dread disease like cancer can make you realize that there isn’t always plenty of time, that the moments we have with our loved ones are all that we have. Even without Cancer it is easy to feel that there is fragility to our lives. It is rare to find a person who hasn’t lost a close friend or family member to a sudden illness, accident or other unexpected circumstance.
James 4:14 reminds us that we are a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes, and that we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. The flimsiness of our lives calls to us to slow down, look around and capture the here-and-now with the people we love. Here are some ways we can make every moment count:
1. Remember life is happening right now. Life isn’t something that you can press the pause button on; it isn’t something that you can decide to start tomorrow. Right now, whether you like it or not, whether you like your circumstances or the surroundings, your life is happening. You can sit back and watch others live their lives, or you can realize that your life is happening right now, and stand up and say, “Count me in! I want to be part of all the messiness, beauty and flurry of life.”
2. Scratch it off. One of the best ways to make every moment count is to live the life that you’ve always wanted. So dust off that bucket list, decide which dreams are achievable and just scratch them off.
3. Slow down. It’s easy to think that embracing life and making the most of every minute means you need to do a lot of stuff. That’s not true. Often focusing on the simple, ordinary things that you love is the best way to make the most of your time.
4. Make time. Make spending time with your loved one a priority, you will never regret it. In life you will be able to make more money, but no matter what you do, you can never make more time.
5. Laugh often. Realizing that your time with loved ones may be short can be stressful so learn to laugh at the little things. Laughter is good medicine!
6. Enjoy what you do. It is a reality of life that you don’t get to do everything that you want, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t fully enjoy what you do get to do.
©bonnie annis all rights reserved
14 Yet
you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What
is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff
of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then
disappears [into thin air]. James 4:14 Amplified Bible
