July 22 2019

Life goes on, how do you? James was right. I was grieving, not the loss of a loved one, but the loss of how I used to look and my life before basal cell carcinoma. With the invitation from James that this could be a good thing, I paid careful attention to my experience and learned that:

• We can heal from emotional wounds like we do physical ones. The healing comes from the inside out in some miraculous way and we need to take care of ourselves so it can happen.
• We need to listen to our bodies and heed their call as long as it isn’t unhealthy. Cry and laugh as we feel the emotions.
• The healing takes a lot longer than we want.
• Out of nowhere, we can feel pain as we heal. In grief we call these griefbursts.
• Reach out for help and support. I needed several additional treatments over the next few years to minimize the scarring. Counselors, grief companions, clergy and support groups can all be important on the grief journey.
• You are not the same person as you were before and you end up with scars.
• Life goes on, how do you? You do your best to take care of yourself, listen to your body, seek support from others and take baby steps.
• You never forget but you make life new again.

I also leaned on the words of Julian of Norwich, “All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”