Friday Round-Up

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girl_with_lassoI couldn’t let this last Friday of the year pass by without sharing what the writers in the BC blogosphere have been reflecting and commenting on this week.

In Closing Out Another Year, Nancy sees this week between Christmas and New Year as the perfect time to unwind, reflect and just be, and has decided that she is “ready to send 2011 on its way and more than eager to welcome in a New Year.”

Another blogger in reflective mode is Catherine, who reckons “this is a perfect time to reflect upon our Ifs . . . 2012, a whole new year with adventure and growth just waiting to happen.”

Guest editor Ronnie has some reflections on the best things of 2011 on the Being Sarah blog.

Debbie is also reflecting on the five years since she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I know how far Debbie has come and how ready she is to move on. I am also reflecting on what  a good friend she has been to me in the past few years I have come to know her.

In Bruised, Battered and Thankful, Stacey has been writing about a very frightening car crash which her family experienced this past week. Thankfully, they all emerged unscathed, but understandably Stacey’s end-of-year reflections have been on how suddenly our lives can change.

A truly beautiful post from Jan reflecting on her Christmas – I felt humbled and challenged reading it. It wasn’t the Christmas she envisaged she would be having a year ago – yes, life really does bring unexpected changes and we aren’t always ready –  but Jan, with her customary grace and faith, embraced those changes and her account of how she did is a reminder to me of how an attitude of gratitude really does make all the difference.

Lauren reposted a post she wrote the first Christmas after she had cancer; it is a beautiful reminder to us all of what is important and what is not.

Chemobabe has done a round-up of the top cancer stories over the past year – well worth a read.

Florence has challenged herself to try to find one hundred perks of having cancer..so far she is almost half-way there at #47.

Finally, I missed out on Beth’s terrific post The Price of Silence earlier in the month, but reading it today, it really resonated with me, as I reflected on the wisdom of sharing the news of my latest miscarriage with readers. Sometimes I think I share too much that is personal and I know that isn’t for everyone, but reading Beth’s post and the quote she shares from Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals made me glad that I did. (See also an excellent post by Heidi Cohen written at the time of Trey Pennington’s death on this subject of transparency in the age of social media).  I also feel immense gratitude for all of you who share your own struggles so honestly and my wish for the coming year is that we continue to journey with each other in a supportive and compassionate online space.

And so in this final weekly round-up of 2011, I leave you with the words of Audre Lorde, which I will continue to take forward with me into a new year of blogging.

I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood…the transformation of silence into language and action is an act of self-revelation… [M]y daughter…said ‘….you’re never really a whole person if you remain silent.

My wish for you all in the BC blogosphere is that this new year does not find you silent, but that you continue to rant, to rave, to advocate, to tell, in your own inimitable feisty ways!

May the New Year bring you all health and happiness in abundance.

Marie xxx

Category : Advocacy, Lifestyle, Patient Empowerment
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