Finding Rainbows in Storm Clouds: 25 Life Lessons I Learned from a Brain Tumor

Before 2009 my life mantra was ‘I am one of those people for whom nothing great and nothing terrible would ever happen’. For the record, I was wrong on both counts.What if a brain tumor was the perfect vehicle to drive a radical shift in my consciousness? Because that is what it did! Was it the easiest way? No, but I would have ignored easier ways just like most other people. I have found that the vast majority of us won’t change without our environment becoming incredibly hostile to the status quo. The brain tumor was the vehicle I was given to transform my life. I consider it a great blessing. Was it easy when it began? No. Is it an easy journey every day? Definitely not, but it has been a mind-blowing and amazing ride that finally woke me from my slumber, that finally kicked me in the ass enough to decide that I couldn’t waste any more time. The idea of inspiring others with my life journey would have been laughable prior to the brain tumor diagnosis. I was terrified of life. I lived as small a life as possible because that was the way I perceived I was safest. I was negative, afraid, and angry. The picture of inspiration, right? Growth really only happens when we are uncomfortable. Many of us are living lives much smaller than we are meant to. I don’t mean we all need to strive to be like Oprah. When I say smaller, I mean fitting in or hiding our real selves. Challenges aren’t punishments; they are wake-up calls, they are serious soul growth pushing us to get in touch and then start radiating out our authentic selves, the people we are when we aren’t trying to impress anyone. My experience is that those who face big challenges are amazing bad asses who just don’t realize how awesome they are. It’s painful for sure, but the people who have made great strides for humanity in history faced enormous challenges. The most inspiring people in your life are also probably those who have walked through fire.Being diagnosed with a brain tumor was a fantastic way to disconnect from daily life stress. It gave me an entirely new perspective and forced me to reevaluate my priorities. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutia of day to day life. It’s easy to believe that pursuing a career, transporting children from activity to activity, performing well in school and extracurricular activities, paying bills, and buying nice homes, cars, and clothing is all there is, but then something comes along that knocks the perspective right into you. I used to be consumed by those details just like everybody else. Now I live with a balance of helping my children to be fulfilled and healthy, embracing day-to-day tasks, while nurturing my body and my soul. We collectively do a pretty lame job of nurturing our souls. Often it’s relegated to an hour on the weekend. The soul is treated like an afterthought in modern society, but without the soul, life is a series of random occurrences strung together without meaning. The soul is our guiding light. This book is very much about unlearning, about peeling back the layers of crud our lives are coated with, so that we can remember our amazing power as sparks of God playing the game of life. When I wake up in the morning, I ask: “What would make my soul joyful today?” Some days I don’t get it right. Some days I get stuck in the minutia; I’m human. More often than not, the answer is writing and helping others to find balance, peace and acceptance. When I help others, when I inspire someone to accept who she really is, to dive into the deep end, to trust, and to believe in herself, I feel radiant. Life truly is about the journey every day, the moments that happen now and not about the destination. My sincere hope is that this book helps you to tap into the river of wisdom running within you, to clear out your clutter, and to remember that you are far more powerful than you probably ever allowed yourself to believe.