I refuse to be Alice

"There is no use trying," said Alice; "one can't believe impossible things."  "I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."            --Lewis Carroll

I think the Queen might be onto something. Sometimes you have to take command of your emotions and tell them how you want to feel. Practice thinking positively, even when you don't feel it. It would be wonderful to wander through life like Alice, a naive carefree reed in the wind. But, this week, I choose to be the Queen and believe in the impossible, or at least practice believing in the impossible.

No, surviving my cancer isn't an impossible task, but the published five-year survival rates (15%) do make for a dismal outlook. But, I'm now in the habit of imagining the impossible, every single day. Those survival rates mean nothing to me. They just simply don't apply, and they certainly don't define me.

Almost daily, I've been listening to a meditation for patients undergoing chemo. In addition to other positive imagery and affirmations, the leader of the meditation invites me to see this cancer as a negative energy I've been holding onto because I previously thought I needed it. So, now it's time to say good bye and get rid of the negativity. I imagine each cancer cell breaking free and making its way out of my body.

Maybe it's a little fanciful, but maybe it's just about having faith in the positive powers of the universe, believing in what seems to be near impossible.