Gathering Goodness

It’s easy to respond to the grenades life throws at us with fear. So often when the ground is pulled out from underneath us, all we can do is claw frantically at anything that may hold us up.

I was scared when I was diagnosed with cancer, especially before we knew exactly what was going on. I could have had anything ranging from tuberculosis to “really scary thyroid cancer that can kill you in 3 months” (this description by my doctor is seared on my brain for life). Fortunately, blessedly, I got the “good” kind of non-Hodgkins lymphoma and was successfully treated.

During my treatment, I was overwhelmed by the kindness and goodness of everyone around me.  People stepped up to care & comfort me in so many ways. The gestures that touched me to tears the most were the small ones: notes and phone calls that someone was thinking of me and praying for me. Perhaps my favorite is a voicemail from my friend Dee who said “My mom wanted me to tell you that there’s a group of Benedictine monks in some small town in Wyoming praying for you.” The thought of people I don’t even know praying for me was unbelievably moving.

This is probably why I connect so strongly to Susan York’s Gathering Goodness Mosaic project. As Susan went through treatment for ovarian cancer, she said she had a transcendent moment when she could physically feel all the prayers people said for her. This doesn’t sound weird to me at all, it makes perfect sense. There’s a lot of energy in prayers and I’m never surprised when someone says they feel it.

What I especially love is Susan has created a beautiful way to give back to the world with her mosaic project. Composed of 108 pictures of peace, joy and love, Susan’s work is gorgeously colorful and completely engaging.