Funny Thing About Facing Life or Death

Once you have been confronted with a life-and-death situation, trivia no longer matters. Your perspective grows and you live at a deeper level. There is no time for pettiness.
— Margaretta Rockefeller

I really like this quote above. In a weird way I was and remain thankful for my cancer experience. It forced me to gain moments of clarity about my life and examine what was important to me. That exercise really became the path for how I lived my life during cancer and today.

I do not want to be misunderstood – – nor do I want to misconstrue “pettiness.” Like I say in my Cancer Etiquette blog for me not having my friends talk to me about their lives made me feel all there was in my life was “cancer patienthood.” So I did NOT consider hearing about fights with boyfriends, or kid car-pooling issues petty in the least. Those conversations were necessary for me to feel alive.

What defined trivia and pettiness for me was facing my demons. I decided to take a break from people and vowed not to continue relationships with people for historical sake – when the friendship was long gone. Life is just to short for that. I also adopted a no tolerance attitude and said goodbye to my excuses for not having the courage to make dreams happen.