Third Open Letter - Joyful News!: Rich Update

[This is an "open letter" about my return to health and wholeness.]

January 31, 2008

Dear Beloved Community,

I'd like to tell you a love story. We're just back from the Duke Brain Tumor Center where our doctor told me, "You are completely cancer free." Among the many treatment therapies I’ve experienced, we know that the love we have received from so many of you has been the most powerful healing agent.

We are elated, deeply appreciative, overflowing with gratitude, and, yet, not surprised. Even though in the summer of 2006 I was given little chance of surviving a year, we've had this faith and knowing, almost from the first, that it would be OK, that this challenge was somehow for us, and not against us.

The night before my big tests at Duke (MRI and PET scans), I had this beautiful dream. I was walking on a path with a pond on my left and a dense forest on my right. As I was moving forward I came to a place where a big tree had blown over, uprooting a huge root ball leaving a big hole. I couldn't go forward. My only option was to back track and go around the pond the other way. It took me a couple of days to get back to the same spot. To my surprise, the tree was gone and the hole had been filled in, leveled, and had grass growing on it. It had been made whole. I couldn't imagine how that happened so quickly and decided there must have been some divine intervention. I walked across the grass and headed forward on my path. So you see, there have been indications along the way like this one, that I was going to be OK. And you all have been part of that knowing. Many of you told us, "I have a feeling...," or "I just know...," or other affirmations. Thank you for keeping faith for us, with us.

It's been quite a journey of body, mind, and spirit. We could even say an epic journey because of the transformative impact on us. Above all else, it has been a journey of wondrous blessing.

One of the most meaningful lessons (of many!) has been a deeper understanding of, "You have to do the work yourself, but you can't do it alone," and a deeper appreciation for all who have contributed to our journey of healing. So many angels. Knowing how deeply our lives intertwine, we thank you all so very deeply.

Early in my journey I had a strong intuition that my individual story was a metaphor for our collective story; one can say that our beautiful Earth is dealing with a kind of cancer: unrestrained growth that may potentially destroy the whole. In an article, "My Story, Our Story" (article below) there are some examples of how this may be true.

Today, I'd like to offer an additional, hopeful way that my story may be representative, if we make wise choices, of our collective human-Earth story. I think of it as "back from the brink." I did pay attention to the subtle but unmistakable signals, and did wake up. We made dramatic, inconvenient changes in the way we live. If we'd been asked 2 years ago if it were possible to make such drastic changes - in our diet, in our priorities, in our beliefs, in our actions - we would have said no. Norman Cousins says, "Anything is possible when... [we] realize that everything is at stake." From this side of the changes, we can now say that, not only were the changes easier than we thought they would be, they all have contributed to a much fuller, happier life. Just as your love and care prompted us to pursue different therapies and healing modalities, and have sustained and supported us spiritually, emotionally, and materially, our collective hearts can put love into action and bring hope and healing to the planetary challenges we are facing.

A consequence of feeling part of a larger story is our commitment to share what we've learned in hopes that it might help others encountering similar challenges. We are open to suggestions as to how best to do that. One step I've taken is to create a blog, "My Healing Story, Our Story'" (http://mystoryourstory.blogspot.com) where I've collected our "open letters," and where we will be adding more posts about specific things we've done that worked for us. We humbly invite you to take a look and offer your comments, experience, and wisdom.

Love, Blessings, and Wellness for the Benefit of All Beings,
Rich & Ruth Ann