As most of you are aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is my public service announcement (a duty I feel necessary when I belong to that darn pink sorority) to go out there and buy something pink! If you're a choco-holic, buy some pink M&M's. If you cook, buy something from KitchenAid. If you're a clothes hound, go shopping at Coldwater Creek. I don't care, just buy something that supports the cause in an effort to bring an end to this disease. Hope is a powerful thing and there is a lot of hope in that pink ribbon. Hope is indeed powerful, but beware...it's not singular, having only one meaning for all. I leave you with a quote on hope and how it may mean many different things to a survivor."Hope comes naturally to some people. Others may have to work to achieve it. Acquiring information, gaining control, developing faith, setting priorities, finding a sense of purpose - all these are ways of getting in touch with hope.
When most patients say "hope," they mean the hope of a cure. To us, hope means much more than that. We define hope as a positive attitude, not necessarily related to achieving a cure. Hope means accepting the reality of any situation but focusing on the redeeming aspects of that situation. To hope is to look for the positive in one's circumstances, whether those circumstances are good or bad....To hope is to be able to focus on what matters the most to you. This means that hope is highly individual....For one person, hope might be the hope of a cure. For another, it might be the hope of a peaceful death.
For one person, hope might be hope for the highest possible quality of life. For another, it might be the hope of bringing life to a positive completion - by mending old quarrels, by finishing work left undone, by coming to terms with old fears.
For one person, hope might be the hope of living in such a way that one's life has made a difference to others. For another, it might be the hope of dying in such a way that one's death has made a difference to others."
Brent G. Ryder
2 comments:
Awesome quote. Who is this guy? I don't recognize his name? I bought my pink this month - M and M's were just one of many things. In fact, our grocery store does this whole "pink" thing where they mark many items that if you opt to buy them then they donate to the foundation! I think it is very cool. With each item I buy, a prayer goes up for you - OF COURSE!!!
Thank you for the reminder. Last night I even saw pink chocolate chips in cookies at our local Safeway! -S
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