kindness – Still Life, Beyond Cancer

My regular readers (what a gift, to think I have some regular readers!) might have noticed that I have only been posting once a week of late, instead of twice. I seem to be experiencing a bit of writer’s block, not in the sense that I don’t have plenty of material (in Cancerland, there is never a shortage of material), but in the sense that I can’t seem to get myself to sit down and focus long enough to do the work.

I think it’s because I’m angry.

Anger is, of course, one of the five stages of grief (cf: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance). While I’ve certainly been grieving (my identity as a “healthy, active” person, my breasts, my mobility, my peace of mind), I don’t think I’ve spent seven months stuck in denial. Which makes me think those stages are rather like descriptions of the writing process (cf: planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing)–neither grief nor writing ever follows a nice, neat linear narrative, even though we talk about both as if they did.

One of my friends recently noted that she liked the anger stage of grief because it was at least galvanizing for her. I feel, at present, more paralyzed. Overwhelmed. I’m angry that all the treatments make me feel worse than the disease ever has. I’m angry that I’m over half a year in, and I still have at least half a year to go. I’m angry that while I’m presumably cured, just in case I’m not really cured (sneaky little bastards, those cancer cells), I have to have 2 x-rays and 6 million photons of radiation shot into my body five days a week for five weeks. I’m angry that not one of seemingly hundreds of studies on creams, lotions, and gels have resulted in any definitive conclusions about what really does and doesn’t protect your skin from radiation, making the risk of long-term damage (for me=potential issues with reconstruction) ultimately an individual genetic crapshoot.

And then I feel guilty.

Because while it sucks to have cancer, I am getting excellent medical care. The chemo worked! I am healing! I can afford to hit my cancer yet one more time with radiation because I have the gifts of time and good insurance–not everyone does. My surgeons, doctors, nurses, and technicians are skilled, smart, supportive. My husband is amazing, and friends and family and even strangers encourage me everyday.

So I get that I’m lucky, and I’m profoundly grateful.

But I’m still angry.

Having been forcefully reminded just how precious and precarious is this life, I’m angry with how badly people treat one another these days. And I don’t just mean in comment threads on social media, though the vitriol online makes me shiver. From our highest government leaders to our neighbors down the street, it seems like we’ve abandoned empathy and simple acts of kindness almost everywhere. One recent example: Roanoke has a number of rather short C-shaped on/off ramps connected to the freeway that runs through town. Yesterday, driving between appointments, I moved over into the left lane at one such ramp to let two cars merge. I needed to gain access back into the right lane almost immediately, as my exit was coming up, so I put on my blinker, thinking the silver VW Bug I’d moved over for would likely return the favor. Instead, the driver accelerated to where he was just close enough that I couldn’t move over safely–and then stayed there, keeping pace, even after I tried accelerating myself to pull ahead of him. I had to brake and go around him from behind at the last second, or miss my exit. He smiled smugly as he passed me on the right.

Did the young man have something against middle-aged women? My plaid fuchsia hat? My “animal friendly” license plate? Was he just pissed because my blue Cube is way cuter than his Bug? Seriously: why the deliberate act of meanness?

Cube1 — Uh oh: make this girl mad and she’ll…make nice?

It’s possible (though I think unlikely) he was simply oblivious, but even so: in this age of near-permament distraction, if we start using distractedness as a justifiable excuse for unkindness, we’re in deep, deep trouble.

Blowing my horn and flipping him off (oh, yes, she did) didn’t make me feel much better. There’s something else that I think will. But I need your help.

According to relationship researcher Dr. John Gottman, couples who share five positive interactions to every one negative interaction are much more likely to have happy, lasting relationships. I propose we apply a version of this formula to the world at large.

Now, I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve seen so many negative news reports alone that if I were to try to counter them five to one, I’d never be able to keep up. But how about two to one?

This is my Do Good to Feel Good challenge to you: counter negatives you experience (or create) with double the positives. Embrace the 2:1 Kindness Ratio.

If someone is a jerk to you in traffic, do two good deeds toward other drivers to offset it.

If someone insults you, pay two compliments or offer kind words to two people, as a kindness-counter-gesture.

If you read and share articles about scary and frustrating things happening in our government and world via social media (and I think we must, to stay aware and informed, even, or especially, when truths are hard; we must also vet all sources, and resist fake news!), then also make an effort to read and share a few stories of good news, too. (If nothing else, there’s always cute cat photos.)

Of course, the best way to curtail unkindness is to make sure you yourself aren’t initiating it. So be civil. Period. Pay attention to those around you, and practice choosing empathy first. Would the young man in the Bug have been nicer if he’d known I was heading to radiation treatment for cancer? I don’t know–but none of us should need a reason to be nice. Your mama, like mine, no doubt taught you that things like rudeness, name-calling, and stereotyping are ugly, and she was right. So stop it. And if you goof up, pick your two positive actions and make them happen.

Perhaps anger really does galvanize one to action. But anger is exhausting. So let’s all try to dig ourselves out of this karmic hole we’re in. Two to one in favor of kindness: is that a bargain, or what?

Not too long after I was diagnosed with breast cancer, a meme appeared in my Facebook feed: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be Kind. Always.”

I had seen this piece of wisdom before, but prior to my current struggle, it was essentially an abstraction. I’ve quickly come to understand it at a much more visceral level. You never really know what’s going on inside another person. So be kind, be compassionate.

Because you never really know.

A parable of sorts.

In between the date of receiving my cancer diagnosis and going broadly public with it, I shared a post on my Facebook page that listed which members of congress had voted to allow those on the Terrorist Watch List to buy assault rifles. Though headlined with the clear stance “Vote the nay-voters out,” the list itself was pure information: who voted for what. Immediately a Facebook “friend”—John, someone I barely remember from high school—responded with disagreement, and a lively thread largely populated by three additional friends who supported the initial stance ensued.

I’d shared the post the same morning I had my first appointment with the breast surgeon. There I learned that my cancer was Stage 3 with lymph node involvement, that I would need chemotherapy before surgery, that further tests were required to verify there was no metastasis. It was heavy news, not what we’d hoped for, and in that moment the second amendment quickly shifted pretty far down my list of concerns.

In the thread, John had moved fast to dismissive comments peppered with things like “STFU,” “you don’t have a clue,” and broad insults to all liberals. I have no patience for incivility of that sort on a good day, and the rapidly rising snark factor upset me. After a few more snipes and insults, I wrote the following on the thread:

“John, enough. I am not having the best day ever and this stuff is not helping. Thanks all.

And just a note for the future. I don’t post things on my page as an invitation for other people to shoot them down and argue with me. I post them because I believe in them. You don’t have to agree, but neither do you have to try to start an argument. My mind is unlikely to be changed, and I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.”

I pointed out I’d never once picked an argument deliberately on his page, although he frequently leapt at the chance to tell me how wrong I was in my posts. I asked him to stop, to show some restraint, as nicely as I could.

His response: “Spoken like a true liberal. Only post if you agree. No opposing arguments. Got it.”

And then he posted this (completely unsourced, terrible visual-quality) graphic, on causes of death in the USA:

The number three cause of death listed: cancer.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

Since my own diagnosis, I’ve had a friend suffer from a serious spider bite. Another saw his sister diagnosed with cancer. Two friends have seen their beloved dogs through serious surgeries and biopsies. Another, an avid runner, is laid up for a few months after surgery to repair ruptured tendons and ligaments. Still another tragically lost her son to suicide. A former student faces abdominal surgery for ongoing health issues, a dear friend has heart surgery coming up soon. The aging parents of several friends have been in and out of the hospital multiple times, and one young woman lost her mother. Another girlfriend has feared loss of a job. A twenty-two-year-old model I’ve worked with continues his battle against leukemia. Two friends have disclosed serious depression. And countless people now face recovering from the damages of Hurricane Matthew.

And these are just some of the battles I do know about.

What of all the others? The man in front of me in line at the grocery store? The student sitting quietly in the back of the coffee shop? The neighbor loading a box into her car? The commenter on the online thread?

Since my own diagnosis, I have been the recipient of depths and breadths of kindness that I do not know how I will ever repay. Notes, cards, music, books, food, flowers, yoga, housecleaning, hugs, prayers, gatherings of support, so so many words of encouragement. I have been moved to tears by the incredible love and generosity of the people in this world.

That is the world I want to live in, to help create.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

Be kind.

Always.

Tag: kindness

Anger and Empathy: The 2:1 Kindness Ratio

Be Kind. Always.

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: