The Joys of Cancer

#2 New Priorities

All that fluffy, fussy, busy, distracting, stressful crap you thought was important? Just like that - boom! - in a blinding flash, there is a shift in priorities. And that crap isn’t less important, it doesn’t just move down the list; no, it falls off the list completely.

A burden is added, but so much weight is lifted. There is really so little that matters, and it is easier than you ever dreamed to jettison the rest. No regrets, no remorse, no looks back. The change is immediate, complete, and strangely liberating.

Here’s what I think matters now:
1. Staying alive
2. Kindness

Yep, that’s it.

Assuming I’m successful with #1, at some point I know that I’ve got to expand the list just a little bit. But I’ve been sitting here looking at this paragraph for 5 minutes, and I can’t come up with anything else that matters. Not right now.

Another benefit to the paradigm shift: it’s a whole lot easier to focus on your priorities when you’ve got them distilled to the essentials.

It may be the booby prize of the cancer game. But it’s a big booby.