p e r s on a l growth
EMBRACING THE STEPS UP THE MOUNTAIN
by Cindy Needham
I have always been fascinated by time, space and how we as humans fit in to it all. Right from going to the planetarium in grade school, I was hooked on learning about the sweet mysteries of life. Over the past 30 years I have been exploring the relationship between the mind, body and spirit. Throughout this time, I began to connect the dots and see the bigger picture. I started to see the precious and amazing gift that life is. I believe that we are here to experientially learn who we are. What seem like random events, are moments in time for you to experience yourself. It is how we choose to respond to these events, that makes a difference in the results we get in life and the lessons we learn.
Breast Cancer Mountain Breast cancer is one of the most challenging events that I have faced so far in my life and that includes losing my mom, dad and granny at a fairly young age. Breast Cancer is an event in my life, that to this day, is still teaching me lessons about who I am. Let me share how this journey started for me… After my call back mammogram, I was told to sit and wait for an ultrasound. That was when my Spidey sense went off and I felt fear wash over me. I knew
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that my life was about to change. I knew that it was going to be a roller coaster of a ride, but I also knew it was just an event in my soul’s journey. Every time I felt my body prickle with fear, I reminded myself that I couldn’t change the situation, only how I chose to respond to it. The moment the radiation tech called my name, I decided to stand tall, embrace my inner warrior and stare fear in the eye. A couple of weeks later when I heard my diagnosis, I pictured beating breast cancer as climbing the hardest mountain I have ever hiked. I knew that with one step at a time I would get to the top. I was ready to conquer cancer.
One Step at a Time One step at a time is needed to get through a lot of dark, challenging moments in life. One step at a time helps you see, understand and accept what is in front of you, so you can respond to the challenge from a place of empowerment instead of fear. One step at a time helped me understand the rough terrain I was on. I couldn’t change that I was going through breast cancer, but I could choose to stay connected to my inner warrior and bring the light to snuff out the darkness of fear. I will never forget the feeling of victory as I hit the top of that beast of a mountain. I felt like a warrior