On the advice of my dear mother in-law, I watched the Oprah show from yesterday. I was hesitant when I saw the preview of the show, as it was about something we all want to avoid discussing, death. However, from her strong recommendation she told me that it was so much more about living, something we all had to see. I was tempted. So, I recorded the late airing of the show and figured I would watch it when I had a few minutes alone.
So, I made some coffee this morning and prepared myself to watch two individuals with terminal cancer discuss their outlook on life. It was amazing. It had it's sad moments but it was SO much more a lesson on life than death. It is so true in life we often don't think of the meaning of life and it's importance until we are faced with death.
The first guest was a woman, Kris Carr, who talked about "Crazy, Sexy, Cancer" - actually the name of her documentary and book and how she manages her cancer with a healthy lifestyle and even refers to cancer as her guru. She is way more than the cancer but an inspiration for all of us on how we should live our lives. One line, I loved that she said was, "I think life is just too sweet to be bitter." How true.
The second guest was Randy Pausch. He is a married, father of 3 young children and a professor at Carnegie Mellon who is also dying from cancer. I was most hesitant to hear his story as the basis of his tragedy hit so close to home. However, we were graced with his presence as he gave his last lecture as he did for his students. Again, so inspiring and amazing. I pulled so much from his words but something that I loved was his advice on apologizing. He noted there are only 3 parts to an apology:
1) I am sorry.
2) I was wrong.
3) What can I do to fix it.
Wow! How often do we apologize and include the words BUT or some way to justify how we acted or what we said? I know I do. And I realized in his advice that in those time I was not apologizing. This will change for me as I remind myself of his words.
Overall, it was a lot of information to take in but something I needed to hear. I have had the unfortunate luck to be in the face with cancer and see the one's I love face this battle. It had been tragic for me, but I know I am not alone. Losing my father when I was 16 was horrific and being that I was just 16 I didn't pull much from the situation other than it was unfair and I was understandably hurt and angry. I don't know that I could have felt differently or that I should have at the time. I do know that his death and cancer did not define him and that I when I think of him I think of good memories and times we had together. However, as the years have gone by the one positive I have pulled from my loss is the appreciation for life. But I do get caught up in the nonsense of day to day life and need to be reminded of the blessings in life and to live each day in that way.
A couple years ago, a sorority sister of mine faced a battle with cancer and lost her life and she was just in her late 20's. She had the courage to document her fight and share with so many friends, family and complete strangers on her battle with this disease. She was always inspiring and always brave. It was actually the first blog that I read religiously. Although, I was not very close to her and had not seen her in recent years, I felt her battle. I wanted to read about her journey and I wanted her to be okay. In the end I do believe she was okay - she always was bigger than cancer and even though she passed on, she has left a legacy. As I watched these individuals on the Oprah show speak of their journey, I thought of Katie and I knew I had felt this inspiration before.
Watching this show I had to pinch myself once again. I needed to be reminded to appreciate life for what is and what is for today. It made me a better person, mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend to watch this show. It once again reminded me of the simple things in life, something I far too often forget. I highly recommend visiting www.oprah.com to see clips from this show. It was truly amazing and something you will not forget.
Thanks Mom!
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