I love this:
“Sometimes you have to let go of the picture of what you thought life would be like and learn to find joy in the story you’re actually living.” — Rachel Marie Martin
Joy… it’s happiness… It’s that bright, optimistic feeling that lifts your chest and makes the world feel a little lighter.
Five words…you have metastatic breast cancer…destroyed the picture of the life that I thought I would be living. That picture has been replaced with a new picture, a new story, one filled with finding joy. If you look around, it’s there. It doesn’t always shout; sometimes it hums. It’s the sunshine on a cold, winter day, it’s the green light when you are in a hurry, it’s the feeling of calm and contentment after good news, it’s laughter, it’s singing in the shower, it’s having a quarter for the Aldi shopping cart, a shared glance, it’s trying a new recipe that looks just like the picture and tastes great. Sometimes joy sneaks up on you. It’s not just in the big wins, but often in the small, almost unforgettable moments.
There are many aspects of my new picture, my new story, that I have no control over. I can’t change my diagnosis, the outcome, the treatment, the quarterly PET scans, or the monthly bloodwork. So I am learning to find joy in my new story. I would like to think my old story was filled with joy, but joy has taken on a new meaning: it has become my companion, giving me the sense that, just for this moment, things are okay.
I invite you to pause and look for joy. Lift your eyes for a moment, and notice what’s around you. Joy often appears in the most familiar places…the sunshine, shared stories, small kindnesses. When we begin to look for joy in everyday moments, we discover it has been with us all along.
— Brandi
You can help.
