A program I saw this week on Australian Story on ABC TV really moved me and made me sit up and take notice.  Entitled ‘Some Meaning in this life, it was about Belinda Emmett- actor, singer, and wife of Rove McManus. At 24 she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  At 32 she died from secondaries in the form of bone cancer.  Whilst it was terribly sad to watch the video she had made about her encounter with the Big ‘C’, and to see the decline of such a vibrant, enthusiastic, energetic young woman, what struck me was her attitude. 

She was so positive, hopeful and even though she knew the prognosis was poor, she refused to let anything dampen her enthusiasm for and love of life. Her attitude was amazing and her spiritual energy conveyed itself forcefully. 

I was reminded of the age old problem we have as humans with stimulus and response.  If you have ever had a dog, you will have noticed that there is a very short time between stimulus and response.  If you have a piece of meat in your hand that the dog wants, it will start salivating spontaneously and will most likely make a grab for the meat.  As humans, we have some space between a stimulus and our response to it.  We can choose our response and act on it. 

For instance, in Belinda Emmett’s case, the cancer was the stimulus.  She could have responded by being devastated, withdrawing into her shell, shutting the world out, blaming God, the universe or whatever.  She could have ranted and raved, screamed out about how unfair it was, or chosen to jump off the nearest bridge. 

Instead of this, she chose to face the cancer and her terminal illness squarely. She looked it right in the eye and decided quite intentionally to keep living, smiling, creating, loving and contributing to the lives of others no matter what.  She laughed and joked her way through the video she made of her final months. She was a strength to her family in the way she dealt with what was so devastating to her health and life. When, coming briefly out of a coma,  she saw her sister quietly weeping at her bedside,she asked, “are your all right?” They were her last words. 

What a woman! What a legacy she has left to other sufferers of cancer.  People will always feel uplifted as they think of her and her contribution to society.  Even death has not silenced her, as there is now a fund to which people can contribute which will help with more breast cancer research, and a CD to ensure her voice and message are not lost.  

Belinda could not control the stimulus of the cancer that turned out to be her lot.  She could and did control her response to it. She could have been bitter, but she chose to make the most of what she had and gave encouragement and light to others in the process.

None of us know what we might come up against in the storms of life, but because we are human we have a choice in how we respond to it.  Will we be ‘bitter’ or ‘better’?

All of us know stories of people dealing with incredible odds. How about sharing some of the victories with me?  I’d love to hear from you.