Live every moment

"I used to think time was a thief. But you give before you take. Time is a gift. Every minute. Every Second."
 - Alice Kingsliegh from Alice through the Looking Glass.

This quote really resonated with me the other day when watching the film for the second time (the first time thinking I was perfectly healthy and had decades left in my life). It made me really think about my appreciation of the time I have and the people and opportunities I have or have had in my life.

About a month ago I took another blow to my already "not great" diagnosis. My treatment plan is out the window and lots of question marks started flying around my medical teams. What did I do in response to this news? Insisted we had dinner by the waterfront and the next morning I went to the beach. Sitting on the beach I was happy. Not a feeling many people might expect me to feel the day after that news but I felt so fortunate to be able to take myself to the beach, feel the sun shining down to warm my skin and look out at one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen in the world. Not everyone even has that fortune in their life and for that I felt grateful.


This wasn't the only gift I gave myself that day; I decided to go for a walk. A body that theoretically is failing at it's job (although I prefer to view it as a perfectly healthy body with some imposters) was rewarded with exercise because it makes me feel good. As I walked up the hill I spotted a pohutakawa in bloom and stopped in my tracks to appreciate it's beauty. I probably looked completely insane to anyone around, some crazy, bald girl staring in awe at a tree. But in that moment my body felt full of happiness - a happiness I wouldn't have been rewarded with if I hadn't got myself out of bed to carry on with my life.



These are just the some of the beauties I am fortunate to have in my life. I think about my baby nephew dribbling on me when I'm holding him. My caring sister-in-law apologises and rushes to wipe it up but I simply think how lucky I am to have this little man in my life and to get to be a part of his, for however long that ends up being. 

In response to the question "How are you?" my mother often used to reply "I got up this morning and my feet touched the ground". It's something I have taken onboard during this time. Nothing could be truer than feeling grateful for waking up and getting to enjoy even the most simple things in life, a nudge from one of my dogs, the beauty of a spiderweb so carefully crafted, the scent of a rose in full bloom, the sound of a tui's call as I sit here and write this...

This diagnosis, though one I would prefer not to have and one I would never wish on anyone, has made me truly realise all the beautiful people and moments I have in my life and has given me inspiration to try to share as much positivity as possible throughout the world while I'm still in it. 

Love every moment you have - It's a gift. Every minute. Every second. 
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Comments

  1. Anonymous11 December 2017 at 17:54

    Good on you Meridee. Beautifully written and 100% true.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sonia11 December 2017 at 20:50

    Nothing like baby dribble 😂

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meridee12 December 2017 at 10:41

      Haha I do try to explain to him it's not necessary, but he's quite insistent 😉

      Delete
  3. Lyndsay20 December 2017 at 14:01

    Sending you love and light, Meridee! Though our meeting was brief, I still feel the joyful impact of all that laughter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meridee1 January 2018 at 05:23

      Thanks Lyndsay! I often look back on our encounter with fond memories :)

      Delete
  4. Benson21 December 2017 at 21:22

    Meridee, I'm so proud of you. Remember, you are not alone on this journey, we are all here with you every step of the way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meridee1 January 2018 at 05:24

      Thank you so much Benson! What a lovely message!

      Delete
    2. Benson1 January 2018 at 10:14

      Happy New Year to you! Have a amazing trip!

      Delete
  5. nicolegribble1 March 2018 at 08:47

    So inspiring to enjoy all the beautiful things that can easily go unnoticed! Thanks for putting your thoughts down for us to read and be encouraged by! Much love Nicole (Gribble/Frackowiak) xx

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The End.

Image
The End.  This is it now and I find myself slightly lost in how to write about the end. I've done the introduction and taken you through a twisting and turning plot; and I know the story ends because all of ours do ultimately, but how does one write that final chapter? How does one process that it is the final chapter?  I got told a couple of weeks ago. In fact, I got told I may only have a couple of weeks to live and as usual I've stubbornly disproven that theory. I'm no fool though, I understand my life is now being measured in weeks; and not necessarily that many of them. In fairness I almost died (I'm not exaggerating) about two months ago, so in a weird way I'm still one up. I have a very serious infection in my liver which sent me into septic shock; the intensive care unit; and a very blunt conversation of all the things that could happen that they wouldn't resuscitate me from. I have never been so terrified in my life and I experienced a new level of pain
Read more

The year of yes.....

Image
In October 2016, I sat with my friend, in Bulgaria on my 30th birthday, after a somewhat stressful year, and told her 2017 was going to be amazing, I had decided I was really going to live it. What I didn't elaborate on was my plan for this - I was going to live a year of yes. Essentially I was going to say yes to everything unless it didn't fit with my moral code; that way I would truly experience everything the world was going to offer. I had no idea what 2017 had in hold for me and in reflection I did have a year of yes of sorts. I said yes, slice me open - twice; yes, load me full of pills; yes, inject me with bags of chemicals.... all because I want to spend as much time here as I can. Over the last couple of days I've read many reflections from friends around the world saying they hope the next year will be better. Although this year is far from what I had hoped for I have to say there is plenty in 2017 which I have loved. I have re-established old friendships, fo
Read more