Tigerlily Foundation

Tigerlily Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to educating, advocating for, empowering and providing hands-on support to young women, before, during and after breast cancer. For more information visit: tigerlilyfoundation.org.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Welcome to 2009!

Hi everyone,

We are finally in 2009 and many of us have made resolutions to do this or that and to create a better life, with better choices and more joy and prosperity than the previous year.

As I sat down to think of all that had happened in 2008, it came to me. In January, I would focus on being grateful for change. As human beings, we are creatures of comfort.

Even the littlest of changes can upset our routines, make us irritable, off kilter and for those who experience major challenges, change can turn your life upside down. However, when the dust settles, we are left to assess where we are now, and more often than not, change is good. Change pushes us to evaluate the status quo, push ourselves beyond our comfort zones and pre-conceived limits and grow to be even stronger and better than we were before.

Change can force one to look at possibilities that may never had occurred to us before.

This past weekend, I met with a young mother of three who was diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently undergoing treatment for the disease. As she sat across from me, she told me that before getting diagnosed with breast cancer, she had been terrified of the thought of the disease and never thought it would ever impact her life. Now, even going through breast cancer treatment, and living with all of the challenges it brings, she was forced to look at herself and her life and change the way she lived, the way she loved, the ways she found peace and joy in the moment and most of all, she had changed the way she saw life. She realized now, that life is a journey, that nothing is promised.

All we know is that it will change and we can choose to go with the flow or fight it. We can enjoy the beauty of it all, walk with grace through the trying times and most of all, live life with gusto. So, this month, why don't we embrace change and everything about it?

Have a plan, but be open to the fact that God's plan for you might be even grander. Hopefully, most things will go your way, but when it doesn't, look at the alternatives and see what gift you can find in that situation; and also, try to shift your view of change and be proactive in implementing change in your life.

A little shake-up might be just the thing you need to start your new year. Until next time, live your best life today!

Maimah Karmo, Breast Cancer Survivor, Fearless Female, Advocate and President of Tigerlily Foundation.

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