Life Force

Another post started a long time ago, it is time to finish.  Original post in blue font.

Spent time in New Jersey with family for a few days.  Visiting is hard now, as my Mom's Alzheimer's progresses.  This visit was especially hard, as my mother's sister has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

We spent a lot of time with her this trip.  We visited every day we were there, and took her to see Mom twice.  We also took her out to dinner one night.

She has decided to undergo radiation therapy to try to eradicate her cancer.  She will go five times a week for six weeks.  I don't know that she will survive the treatment.  She is very thin and frail, and has very limited mobility.  Her skin is very dry and thin and tears super easy.  I can't imagine that she can withstand any additional weight loss, and that is a side effect of radiation therapy.

What is not diminished in any way is her life force.  She wants to live.  She wants to make a contribution.  Her life force is strong.

And that got me to wondering (because you know I always do), why do some people have such a strong life force?

I don't want to creep anyone out, and I certainly don't have a death wish, but I don't know how hard I would fight to cling on to life.  I mean I would right now, because my quality of life is high.  But if I were in pain all the time, or if I was too weak to do the things I wanted to do, or if I knew I had a terminal illness that treatment would be inconclusively painful, I think I would be ready to let it go.

I don't know if that makes me selfish, or is just another expression of the pragmatic approach I have always tried to take to life.

Fast forward almost a year.  My aunt is doing great.  Came through the radiation, cancer in remission, has gained weight and strength.  Simply amazing.  And I'm still thinking about life force.

I finished a novel last night that brought me back to my thoughts about life force.  The title of the novel is White Rose, Black Forest, and it is historical fiction set in World War II Germany.  I highly recommend this novel, and so I don't want to give too much away.  But I will say that the life force of certain characters in the book ebbs and flows as their potential to do good is revealed to them.

And that got me to thinking about what it is that fuels our life force.  It was obvious watching my aunt battle cancer at eighty-eight that she felt she had important work yet to do, and needed to stay alive to do that work.

In the book, a sense of purpose, of the ability to right a wrong, or to make headway against evil was the important fuel to the character's life force.

I approach this same thought from many different directions and perspectives, but it appears one of the single most important things a person needs to maintain a life force is a strong sense of purpose.

And you don't have to be famous, or celebrated to change the world.  Your helping hand, your contribution, your smile, your words of encouragement, they can be the contribution needed.

When feeling like you are not doing enough, or feeling like you can't make a difference that matters, do one small thing.  Compliment someone.  Send a note to a friend.  Make a phone call.  Volunteer.  Feed your life force with purpose.

Each day's purpose can be small.  Say a prayer.  Meditate for peace.  Visit with someone.  But find purpose.

The good in the world is the compilation of thousands to millions of small acts of goodness.  You can add to the beauty with your words and your actions.

I keep getting sucked into the darkness that is so prevalent in the world right now.  Sometimes it feels like something big has to be done to make things better.

Stories of World War II can bring home how the small brave actions of ordinary people changed the course of the war.

We're not in the dramatic circumstances of World War II, but we are confronted daily with the insidious nature of prejudice, hatred and fear. 

We can take small brave actions to strengthen tolerance, and love and hope.  One small, kind word or action at a time.

And that is a purpose worth having.  And fuel for your life force.