Rising to the occasion
My friend Sevil once told me about the Turkish saying, “We plan and the gods laugh at us.” That’s exactly how I feel sometimes because somehow life seems to pose exactly those hurdles and hardships for us that challenge us the most, turning a former strength into a weakness.
In my case, I was always so full of energy, multi-tasking like crazy and doing it all: international career, hands-on mum, exercising regularly, always being on the move and in action and never allowing others to see my weaknesses or – god forbid ;-) to ask others for real help. My can-do attitude was always my strength. And the breast cancer suddenly stopped me in my tracks, made me weak like crazy, unproductive like crazy, almost stole my smile and challenged me to re-think, reflect and ultimately led to true enlightenment.
When confronted with the cancer diagnosis, I was of course at first absolutely overwhelmed by fear and in a state of turmoil. My own personal way of coping with this shock was to understand the cancer as my opportunity to grow personally, learn and develop further. Although I do not belief in god, somehow I feel that we are all part of something bigger, that there is some kind of fate and that – as we say in German – everything is good for something.
Already before the cancer experience I was well aware of and cherished the simple pleasures of life and the importance of mindfulness. The cancer has elevated my understanding onto a new level, led to a much deeper peace of mind and resulted in an unending gratefulness. Now on some days I am brimming with joy and gratefulness, being so happy that I may experience another day, knowing that my challenge could have been so much more difficult and could have led to a much shorter life than I have already lived.
