The Many Facets of Flat
Today I am grateful for a chance to run into the sunrise this morning. I am also grateful for a family wedding that will bring many of us together this weekend.
Cancer treatment and surgeries were on my mind yesterday as I marked another anniversary post-diagnosis. From there, things went flat. As in a flat chest thanks to bilateral mastectomies in December of 2008. I had months to prepare for the mastectomies, but nothing can truly prepare you. I simply had to go through it and recover. That wasn't always simple or easy, but it was possible. I am here, healed, accepting my flatness. I chose not to have reconstruction and can tell you now that it was clearly the best option for me.
Flat may describe my chest terrain, but it does not fit with my outlook on life. I am motivated and inspired more often than not, but only because I have learned to tap into power sources beyond myself.
Speaking of flat, alcohol wasn't flat, it had fizz. (I never let it sit there long enough to get flat.) But alcohol could have flatlined me. It could have killed me. A slow suicide was already underway. It did flatline me by this definition: to be in a state of no progress or advancement. I was stuck and not growing during my drinking years and early sobriety. Some days I can still get stuck, but my general direction is forward on the right path. For that I am truly grateful.
To round out the many facets of flat (pun intended), there are the hills and flat stretches I have run over the years. I appreciate the respite of the flats, but I also appreciate the challenge of the hills. And the hills bring more changes in view, just like gratitude practice does.
There's nothing flat about sincere gratefulness.
I will be taking a blog break until early next week. Have a good day and consider what life's flat stretches can teach you.
Cancer treatment and surgeries were on my mind yesterday as I marked another anniversary post-diagnosis. From there, things went flat. As in a flat chest thanks to bilateral mastectomies in December of 2008. I had months to prepare for the mastectomies, but nothing can truly prepare you. I simply had to go through it and recover. That wasn't always simple or easy, but it was possible. I am here, healed, accepting my flatness. I chose not to have reconstruction and can tell you now that it was clearly the best option for me.
Flat may describe my chest terrain, but it does not fit with my outlook on life. I am motivated and inspired more often than not, but only because I have learned to tap into power sources beyond myself.
Speaking of flat, alcohol wasn't flat, it had fizz. (I never let it sit there long enough to get flat.) But alcohol could have flatlined me. It could have killed me. A slow suicide was already underway. It did flatline me by this definition: to be in a state of no progress or advancement. I was stuck and not growing during my drinking years and early sobriety. Some days I can still get stuck, but my general direction is forward on the right path. For that I am truly grateful.
To round out the many facets of flat (pun intended), there are the hills and flat stretches I have run over the years. I appreciate the respite of the flats, but I also appreciate the challenge of the hills. And the hills bring more changes in view, just like gratitude practice does.
There's nothing flat about sincere gratefulness.
I will be taking a blog break until early next week. Have a good day and consider what life's flat stretches can teach you.
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