It’s easy to maintain the balance when everything is rosy and dandy. It’s easy to smile and laugh and look at the world in a positive light. If only life was like that all the time. The reality is that every single one of us will face something that challenges us. We can’t live in fear that something bad might happen. Life has to be lived according the given moment.

But what do we do if something happens? If life throws some totally unexpected curveball at us, what do we do? Part of my job as a surgeon is informing patients that they have cancer. Bladder, kidney, prostate and testicular are the cancers that occur in my specialty field. For doctors its important to be cognisant that behind every cancer is a person with hopes, desires and aspirations. They may have a partner and children and a job and a lifestyle. The impact of cancer is huge.

All kinds of curveballs can happen and just in the last few months I’ve had a mate get knocked off his cycle at 100 kmph and had his life upended. And a family friend lost their son in tragic circumstances. How does one cope? How does one adjust? In reality, everyone will cope differently. My friend told me today “that one has to eventually arrive at a place of acceptance that one’s life plan is not the same anymore, rather than trying to get back to the old life plan”. I believe that is a very useful outlook. People gain strength from many different sources- spirituality, philosophy, religion. And many turn their tragic experience into one of positivity through advocacy or raising awareness.

There is no instruction manual for coping with life’s challenges. You just have to learn on the fly. Survival is programmed into our DNA so it’s a matter of tuning into your deepest inner resources with the support of everyone around you.

Peace, peace, peace…

In Health and Wellness