DEARMAIZIE

Spot On

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Are you aware?

Every day this month, one (or all) the cancer blogs I read profiles a person involved with lung cancer. Yesterday, Lisa at Every Breath I Take profiled Lucy Kalinithi, widow of Paul Kalinithi, a 37-year old neurosurgeon who died of lung cancer in March of this year.

It’s a lovely profile and spurred me to go on and read the essays on Paul Kalinithi’s website. One, titled ‘Before I Go,’ will be especially meaningful to anyone facing his or her mortality, if only for this paragraph and the sentence in bold:

Everyone succumbs to finitude. I suspect I am not the only one who reaches this pluperfect state. Most ambitions are either achieved or abandoned; either way, they belong to the past. The future, instead of the ladder toward the goals of life, flattens out into a perpetual present. [emphasis mine] Money, status, all the vanities the preacher of Ecclesiastes described, hold so little interest: a chasing after wind, indeed.

Spot on.

You can read all the Lung Cancer Awareness profiles here.

 

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Posted by:

dearmaizie

9 responses to “Spot On”

  1. Mercy Avatar
    Mercy

    I followed your suggestion and read many of the profiles and essays; writers with spirit and life affirming thoughts. I was surprised by new facts, treatments, and outcomes that could soon turn cancer into a chronic disease. HIV was a great example. Wishing you more encouragement each day.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. dearmaizie Avatar
      dearmaizie

      Thanks for your comment. So true that the outcomes for all cancers are changing. Unfortunately, lung cancer is still the number one killer and the prognosis is still poor. But there’s always hope in progress.

      Like

      Reply
  2. Barneysday Avatar
    Barneysday

    Wonderful thoughts and essays. As a lung cancer survivor, I can attest to the value of a positive spirit, and to never give up, there is always hope. Thanks for sharing you and your story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. dearmaizie Avatar
      dearmaizie

      Thanks for your comment. I try to stay positive. Some days it works. Some days it doesn’t. But tomorrow’s another day.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Barneysday Avatar
        Barneysday

        It is never easy, and anyone who has been through this and says it is, is delusional. The only good thing is getting up in the morning, and seeing the grass from the green side. The rest is a struggle of varying degrees, but a struggle none the less. Its our strength that gets us through and thats the positive.

        Always great to hear from you, or read your latest post.

        Liked by 2 people

  3. Aunt Beulah Avatar
    Aunt Beulah

    I read Paul Kalinithi’s quote several times and will visit his website. The emphasized sentence alone spoke volumes to me. I shan’t soon forget it. Thank you, Maizie, for opening my thoughts today.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. dearmaizie Avatar
      dearmaizie

      Glad you enjoyed. The quotation moved me, too.

      Like

      Reply
  4. goldmanlisa Avatar
    goldmanlisa

    Thank you for sharing this. Glad to have found another member of our LC blogger club. xo

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. dearmaizie Avatar
    dearmaizie

    Thanks, Lisa. I enjoy your blog.

    Like

    Reply

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This blog started out as letters to my dog maizie but devolved into meaningless observations from a half-deaf cancer alumnus introvert navigating the noise you other people make.

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