When wishing is not enough...

Round about New Year's Day of this year I decided that 2011 was going to be a great year.   At the time, it was mostly just a sort of "decision" I'd made, based on some sort of inward exuberance... as if I could just will my decision into reality.  Right.  Wishing always works, doesn't it?

As it turns out, this year didn't start off as well as I'd wished:  my grandmother passed away in early January, followed by my dad just a few weeks later.  Dad had been diagnosed with Lupus several years ago, but apparently had also had (for want of a better word) latent lung cancer.  It seems that his cancer symptoms had been masked by conditions attributable to his Lupus, or potential side-effects of the many medications he was on for it.  By the time they detected and diagnosed Dad's lung cancer, it had already metastasized to his bones.  Dad died within a week of the cancer diagnosis.  I don't know if it was the cancer that killed him.   I don't guess it makes much difference.  Nobody could wish it away.

At one time or another, we've all said words to the effect of how we "...wish we'd [done something or other]..." or  "wished that [something or other]  hadn't happened."  It's really just a way we humans have of expressing regret or sympathy.  Inside, we all know that wishing will never change what's past.  And here's the thing: not only does wishing not change the past, wishing alone can never, ever shape our future.  To be clear: for our wishes and dreams to be made real, they also require our action.  So while I wish that my dad was still alive, he's not and there's nothing I can do to change that. However, what I will do is always remember what was best in him and use my actions to carry those things forward into the world.

So I will continue to wish for a world where people don't have to needlessly suffer cancer,  and I will act to make that world real. I will do that just as I have done for the last 8 years: by relentlessly cajoling everyone I know to sponsor me on the Pan Mass Challenge: a 2-day, 192-mile bike ride to raise money for cancer research and treatment.  I will continue to ride in support of cancer survivors, in memory of its victims and to help the researchers and doctors searching for a cure and more effective treatments.

Please join me in making 2011 a truly great year: take action on your wishes.

/doug