I’ll see it…when I believe it. My beliefs are now part of my daily mantras that I consciously and ardently reinforce every single day. I am cancer free, and will be for the remainder of my life. My novel will be published and my writing skills affirmed, most of all to myself. My life is idyllic and I am grateful for every minute of every day. My plant based, whole food diet is saving my life and the life of the planet.
So, before I forget and ramble on, Feliz Ano Nuevo to all! New years, new beginnings. Time to reflect on the past and LET IT GO. I actually have to remind myself these days that I once had breast cancer with all of the attendant horrors of surgery, radiation and chemo. Oh yeah, that was me back then. I have been healthy and drug free for five years now, and have no regrets of choosing my own destiny. I am often asked if I have mammograms, paps, etc. and I have to admit that I do not, nor do I intend to. That would have been anethema to me pre-diagnosis, and it took some doing to release the fears that had been culturally instilled in me to never miss an annual anything. But, didn’t you discover your cancer through a mammo, I have been asked. Yes, but my course of treatment and prevention is now life style changes, not new drugs and cancer-causing radiations. I do not prescribe my life choices for anyone else, ever. It is a very personal and intimate decision I share only for reflection and possible alternatives.
Writing, writing writing! My goal of finishing the first draft of my novel came and went. But I do not despair…life intervened, along with some computer crises and a demolition derby outside my office window. But I am back on course, and scheduling some trips to the US to meet with agents and editors. Now there’s a deadline, which most writers seem to need to get over the finish line, me included. My novel is a cathartic, therapeutic exercise as well. Instead of holding on to the pain and anger of a particularly brutal betrayal by a narcissist in our past business life, I am taking control of my emotions and processing the angst in a healthy, non-internalizing way. And in my novel I get to kill the MF!
I am also feeling inspired to pick up a brush and PAINT. My luscious oils have been languishing in my art studio, which was once the lavanderia here. While painting has become a wonderful creative outlet, my true craft is in the words…it’s always been the power of the words for me. I have 30,000 palabras and counting, so I must focus my mind and direct my energies to the single-most important task of the year! I believe it so it shall be.
Namaste.
Jan. 10, 2018
Judy Richter 