DO WHAT MAKES YOU STRONG!

“Do what makes YOU strong!” That’s what my oncologist said before I started chemotherapy treatments for widespread lymphoma. “This is a time that calls for strength,” he said. “Do what makes YOU strong.”

Do you know what makes you strong?

Dealing with cancer – or any life challenge – can be a means to discovering more inner strength, but how?  We all have similar and different needs when facing a crisis.

We each have our own style of coping and responding to our best advantage.

For example, when facing cancer, some people want a lot of scientific data; others do not. Some want to be surrounded by friends and family; others prefer to be alone. Some what to fight the disease; others want to gently release it.  It comes down to knowing and honoring our own needs.

I thought a lot about What empowers me? After praying, reflecting, and tuning in for inner guidance, I recalled a story I had heard about Ivan Pavlov.  Does that name ring a bell?  You may have heard about him in a high school science class, as I did.  He is most famous for his behavior work with dogs.  But did you know that when Ivan Pavlov was ill with a serious infection, before the discovery of penicillin, he did something remarkable to make himself strong?

He asked his assistant to go to the river and fetch a bucket of mud. With his hands in the mud, Ivan re-created in his mind a scene from childhood: playing in the warm mud next to his mom when she did the laundry in that river while singing and telling Ivan stories. Apparently, the recreated sense of well-being and joy in him was so strong that it returned him to homeostasis. The fever broke and Ivan was cured.

This information about Ivan Pavlov led me to a variety of activities that, for me, are like Ivan playing in the mud. I never enjoyed playing in the mud as a child.  But the sand? Oh yes! I loved making sand castles at the New Jersey shore, swimming in the ocean, and going on the boardwalk rides. I recreated a sense of my childhood joy and well-being by smelling sun tan lotion.

I used many other activities, toys, and games to recreate my childhood well-being. For example: I blew bubbles and I colored while listening to soothing music.

I am convinced that these – and many other complementary therapies – along with standard medicine, played a significant role in my healing.  Nine years after successful treatment for cancer, I am still blowing bubbles and smelling suntan lotion at the start of each day.

We don’t need to be facing serious illness to use “Do-What-Makes-You-Strong” techniques. Even without any illness present, we often experiences dis-ease,

which can lead to disease. So, it’s a good idea to do at least one thing to release dis-ease every day. Swing a baseball bat, listen to music you love, dance, take a walk, smell a flower, sing in the shower, or play in some mud! What might create a powerful sense of well-being for you?

We don’t have to wait for a life crisis or challenge to tap into inner reserves to nourish and empower ourselves.  We can be strengthened all the time – ready for not only the challenges but all the opportunities that life brings.  Opportunities call for strength too. Do something loving for yourself every day. Something that brings YOU joy. Something that makes YOU strong! What might you do today?