Earlier this week I received a text from a friend who had suffered a stroke in the middle of the night. Luckily her daughter was home from college and was able to call the paramedics. She was rushed to the hospital and her doctors were able to remove the clot causing the issue. She was resting in the ICU when I was able to reach her, but her speech was a little slurred and her thoughts were not 100% coherent.
It has scared the hell out of me...of course for her health and safety, but also for my own.
I’m about to have a birthday – you know one of those with a 5 or a 0 that makes you pause just a bit.
My friend who had the stroke is 2 years younger than me.
It’s tempting to employ some platitudes here like:
cherish every moment
love your people
when life serves you lemons…
Nothing bad here, but none of those quite capture it.
This sucks. Full stop. It doesn’t mean it’s going to suck forever, and it doesn’t mean she won’t recover (I just spoke to her and she sounds MUCH better). It just is what it is.
In work and in life, we are often focused on changing what we don’t like. That the force of our will can create a new reality.
But I think we often miss a crucial step: acknowledging what is.
Don’t get me wrong; for my friend, I want all the effort: every intervention, the best doctors, and the most amazing care she can have so she can get better.
But, we have to start with what is: to accept where we are now before we can try to change it.
Sarah McDonald joins Sherry and me on the podcast this week to talk about her perfectly imperfect journey. Sarah has had an amazing life and career, but she too was struck with a devastating diagnosis (2 actually).
Just like my friend, Sarah had to start with WHAT IS in order to move forward. Listen in to hear Sarah’s amazing story, and how she beat 2 cancers and (co)created an additional miracle.
Photo credit: Melodee Solomon
.jpg)
