Terminal Illness...A Blessing or a Curse?
I was talking with a colleague yesterday who works with people who were given a terminal diagnosis. No one wants to hear that they have perhaps months or less than a year to live. It is devastating for the person who receives the diagnosis and for their families. It is her job to help everyone cope with such news, and offer support to the patient and family. What is a person to do when such news is given to them? The answer to this question is the subject of this blog post.
When you stop to think about it we are all terminal. From the moment of our conception, we start the process of dying. We just don’t know exactly when that will be. For the person who receives a diagnosis, that unknown becomes a bit more certain. I say ‘bit’ because even medical science as advanced and as all knowing it appears to be is still wrong. I think nearly everyone knows of or has heard of someone who has beaten the odds, or lived longer than ever expected.
The key is a person’s response to the news itself. A person can react in a positive or negative way. A negative response is a person reacting with fear, anger, and depression. A person who reacts in this manner needs to examine a few things. First, did they worry about the diagnosis before it was given? Why would they? They did not know the condition even existed (even though it existed in them before a formal diagnosis.) The only thing that changed is now they have a diagnosis. They can choose to be worried depressed or angry about it, but even if they are does it do any good? Does it change the reality of their situation? What kind of an effect do those emotions have on the body anyway? If you ever experienced any one of these emotions you already know. When you live with those emotions in the forefront of your awareness, life isn’t going to feel so good. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with feeling anxiety, anger and depression in light of such a diagnosis, it is when these feelings become so prominent in a person’s everyday life and attention it becomes unhealthy.
So Live. Live with the knowledge that we are as humans permanently impermanent. This body mind is on loan and will at some point be turned back into its rightful owner, the Creator of all that is. Let the freedom of not knowing when your last day is, allow you more latitude in your life to live without fear anger and depression. You won’t look back on your life and say things like I wish I had started that business, or I wish I had spent less time worrying about my finances or living situation. People who have experienced near death experiences overwhelmingly report such insights to their families and friends. Use these insights for your life right now and feel the joy that comes with them.
© 2018 Michael S Morris, MA LLP
Totality, LLC
When you stop to think about it we are all terminal. From the moment of our conception, we start the process of dying. We just don’t know exactly when that will be. For the person who receives a diagnosis, that unknown becomes a bit more certain. I say ‘bit’ because even medical science as advanced and as all knowing it appears to be is still wrong. I think nearly everyone knows of or has heard of someone who has beaten the odds, or lived longer than ever expected.
The key is a person’s response to the news itself. A person can react in a positive or negative way. A negative response is a person reacting with fear, anger, and depression. A person who reacts in this manner needs to examine a few things. First, did they worry about the diagnosis before it was given? Why would they? They did not know the condition even existed (even though it existed in them before a formal diagnosis.) The only thing that changed is now they have a diagnosis. They can choose to be worried depressed or angry about it, but even if they are does it do any good? Does it change the reality of their situation? What kind of an effect do those emotions have on the body anyway? If you ever experienced any one of these emotions you already know. When you live with those emotions in the forefront of your awareness, life isn’t going to feel so good. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with feeling anxiety, anger and depression in light of such a diagnosis, it is when these feelings become so prominent in a person’s everyday life and attention it becomes unhealthy.
So Live. Live with the knowledge that we are as humans permanently impermanent. This body mind is on loan and will at some point be turned back into its rightful owner, the Creator of all that is. Let the freedom of not knowing when your last day is, allow you more latitude in your life to live without fear anger and depression. You won’t look back on your life and say things like I wish I had started that business, or I wish I had spent less time worrying about my finances or living situation. People who have experienced near death experiences overwhelmingly report such insights to their families and friends. Use these insights for your life right now and feel the joy that comes with them.
© 2018 Michael S Morris, MA LLP
Totality, LLC