There’s a lot of lip service given to “gratitude” during the holiday season, but it can be hard to focus on it in the midst of the chaotic shopping, cooking, and decorating, etc. It may be especially hard to feel grateful when you or a loved one is contending with a cancer diagnosis (during a pandemic, to boot).
Last year, our beloved co-founder of The ROS1ders, Tori Tomalia, wrote about how she had learned to cope with some very difficult things, including deploying her “Grief and Gratitude” strategy. In her Metastatic Cancer and Pandemics post, Tori counseled that it is critical to acknowledge and grieve the losses, and then after that focus on something to feel grateful for. Don’t wait until things get better, she warned, because there are no guarantees that they will (in fact Tori’s health continued to deteriorate after she wrote this post, and she sadly passed away less than a year later). What we all, but especially those of us living with terminal diagnoses, must learn to do is to find something to appreciate right now. Whether it’s for something big or small, important or seemingly insignificant, feeling sincere gratitude (after allowing for sincere grief) is an important lever to help shift mood and mindset, cope with difficult situations and enjoy the life you have.
Please read Tori’s post in full to appreciate all her wisdom. Today, we are grateful for Tori and all she contributed to The ROS1ders.