Warrior: one of great courage, engaged in war, heeding the call to fight

Across the country, a mother sits by the bed of her young adult son. She listens to the ventilator that keeps him alive but prevents him from saying what she needs to hear.

I'm all right, Mom. I'm going to be fine. I'm getting stronger each day! I'm going to come home soon. I love you, Mom. Don't worry. Don't cry. I'm fine.

I hope that soon the tubes and leads and hoses all come off. I hope the young man sits up and asks for his sneakers and running shorts. I hope he jogs to the hospital door, declining the insistent offer of a wheelchair.

Well...maybe first he'll want to shower and brush his teeth and eat some real food.

Everyone is too young to succumb to cancer, but Connor definitely is.

    

Many, if not most people, experience suffering of some kind or another. But our struggles are not wasted. We learn from them and we grow.

I posted the following to a cancer support group, folks I'm growing to love. But it applies to all who have confronted their mortality, winnowed out the trivial things from the treasures of life, and have something of inestimable value to offer a world that is anguished.

For a brief moment I entertained the thought that, in view of so much suffering in the world, we are fortunate if we die and escape it. But then I came to my senses.

We who have faced and are facing cancer go through a kind of metamorphosis. We realize what matters, we grow, we change. We learn to love more openly and more intensely, to be kinder and gentler. To overlook differences and recognize our common humanity.

In other words, many of us, who have been in this cancer battle long enough, have something we can offer to a tortured and wounded spirit. We can spread love in the world. We can bring our insight and wisdom and try to impart it to others. We can exemplify unconditional love, and tolerance, and hope.

We need to do all we can to stay alive, stay active, and stay engaged. So Warriors, fight on in this cancer world we live in. But bring the best of yourselves to the rest---to friends, family, community.

Be generous with your greatest treasure---your hearts, your love, your desire to heal a broken humanity. All we need is love.