What We Carry With Us
I was reminded today of something that quietly carried me through my cancer journey.
It wasn’t a plan. I didn’t decide it ahead of time or sit with a list of intentions. It was simply the way I’ve always moved through the world.
I’ve always believed that what we put out into the universe is what we get back.
I found a lump in my breast after a shower one day in May of 2014. I can still see that moment clearly. Just standing there, the water still running, in what should have been an ordinary part of the day. Because I have a family history of breast cancer, I knew almost immediately that finding that lump on that day most likely wouldn’t lead to good news.
If you’ve ever had a moment where the ground shifts under you, you know how quiet and loud it can feel at the same time.
My first thoughts weren’t about treatments or outcomes. They were about the people in my life. My family. My friends. My found family. I thought about what a diagnosis might mean for them and how it could change all of us.
The fear was there. Of course it was. But sitting in it and focusing only on the worst possibilities wouldn’t help me. Not emotionally. Not mentally. And not physically.
I truly believe that what we think, what we feel, and what we choose to carry affects our bodies just as much as our minds. During treatment, holding onto a positive outlook felt important. Not because it made things easy or took away the hard days, but because I believed it mattered.
For me, a positive outlook didn’t mean denying reality. It meant choosing where I placed my energy.
And if that mindset matters in the darkest moments of our lives, then it matters in the everyday ones too.
That doesn’t mean pretending everything is okay or forcing positivity. It means paying attention to what we let in. To what we carry with us. Because those things don’t just affect us. They ripple outward to the people around us.
Even small shifts matter. A kinder thought. A gentler response. Letting go of something heavy. We don’t have to change everything. Sometimes we just have to change what we’re holding.
We all carry something. The question is whether it weighs us down or moves us forward.
Remember…
Be kind.
Do more good.
We got this.
