Sandy Duarte, Author at Cancer Ramblings, shared on LinkedIn:
“This week’s Newsletter is here and it marks 2 years in cancer remission!
Plus a simple comment from a dog trainer about not feeling sorry for Nugget (my new buddy!), that became an unexpected reminder about resilience, perspective, and moving forward. It inspired this week’s piece:
‘ Zen in the Art of Dog Training ‘
Wisdom that can come from the most unexpected moments.
Read it here. Share. Like. And keep on loving.
Zen in the Art of Dog Training
Paramahansa Yogananda shared a teaching that I love:
‘Forget the past, for it is gone from your domain! Forget the future, for it is beyond your reach! Control the present! Live supremely well now! This is the way of the wise.’
And then, somehow, along came Nugget.
This week I adopted a sweet little one-eyed dog from an incredible rescue organization, Love Leo Rescue.
A huge shoutout to Kelly for the beautiful work she does. Nugget and I are both fellow fire signs, which tickles me pink because I love a little energetic alignment.
I like to think we may have found each other for a reason.
As part of bringing Nugget home, I was connected with an incredible dog trainer, and during our conversation he said something that made me smile, (and then he smiled too):
‘Don’t feel sorry for Nugget.’
Yes, Nugget had been abandoned. Yes, he had endured a severe eye situation. But dogs (and animals), he reminded me, don’t live in the past the way humans do.
They are present. They are clear. They don’t sit around ruminating about what happened to them. They meet the moment they are in.
I couldn’t stop thinking about that.
Because this week also marks two years in remission for me. And suddenly, this little dog and his trainer had handed me a beautiful reflection of my own journey. Cancer happened to me. It is part of my story.
I remember it. I honor it. I carry the wisdom it gave me. But I don’t need to live there.
The past is there to remind us of what we survived, to inspire our courage forward, and to show us that we are capable of moving through things we once thought might break us. But there is a difference between remembering and remaining.
There is a difference between wisdom and rumination.
Joe Dispenza says something I love, ‘A memory without emotion is wisdom.’ I love this because perhaps this is what happens when we have had enough distance from our hardest chapters to see them differently.
The experience remains, but the emotional charge can soften. What once consumed us can become something that teaches us.
Nugget is quite a survivor, I think. And so am I.
Perhaps you are, too.
Maybe there is something in your own life that you keep looking back at, carrying it forward as though the past is still happening.
Maybe this little reminder is for you, too: you can remember where you’ve been without allowing it to decide where you are going.
I am celebrating two years of remission with a little one-eyed teacher by my side, and I am feeling deeply grateful for the reminder that life is happening right here.
Forward. Always forward.
With love, light and gratitude.
If you have a copy of Cancer Ramblings could you take a moment to leave me a reviewon the platform you purchased from? Not only is it a joy to read your words and thoughts, but it also helps my book land in more hands that need it.
Cancer Ramblings is available worldwide in paperback and Kindle on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Target, and other major retailers.”
Other articles from Sandy Duarte on OncoDaily.
