One
of the things I learned from my clinical depression, is judgment and
shame is extremely detrimental to people. I will not participate in that
behavior now.
Last
evening, I had the pleasure of seeing my hairdresser Maureen. She and I
agreed that I was not quite ready for "BALD" so we went with a buzz
crew cut- like the Military. In talking with Maureen, I learned that
each and every woman dealing with breast cancer will have her own likes
and dislikes- things that feel and sound icky to her.
Some people hate the word "journey" some people do not like the word
"survivor" and still others do not like the word "fight" while many do
feel angry and fight is exactly what they feel they are doing. BEAT
Cancer is their motto.
There really is no right or wrong- It is all good.
It
is important that we do not judge one another for how we cope or react
to the "experience". I wanted this to be an inconvenience and it is
turning out to be a BIG f--king inconvenience beyond what I initially
had in mind. Then again, I was not given a choice how big or little the
experience was going to be. But I do get to choose every day, every
moment, how I want to cope with it. I am making a commitment to myself
and to all of you. Not to judge myself or you for how you react to my attitudes, my thoughts, my place in this process.
IT IS ALL GOOD- THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG
I will
no longer take offense or get upset if you have a very
different opinion or point or view nor react if you would like to change
my thoughts or feelings- I have learned that you are equally entitled
to your very own process as we move forward. I accept you for where you are and I offer myself the same permission.
With an open heart and gratitude
Nancy M. Alterman
