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The other day, I was walking and talking with a friend by Lake Michigan. The water was brilliant blue, and powder puff clouds floated overhead. It is the coolest July in fifty years here with a light breeze. In other words, a perfect, life-loving walk!

Part of our conversational matter was that I was diagnosed with cancer in April and am undergoing chemo. One thing I have learned during these last few months is that I may be sick, but i am not unhappy. Chemo is nauseating, stressful and totally unpleasant. I cannot think of one redeeming thing about it....except for the vital fact that it may take me where I want to go.

How to love your life in what would seem to be adverse circumstantces?

Embrace it! This is MY life. As far as I know for certain, it is the only life I will ever have. I know, there are many theories on what may come after this life and I often hope they are true. But just in case this is it, I certainly want to make the most of it.

How would one embrace their life? There is an old adage, play the hand you are dealt. That doesn't mean go out and stir up trouble for yourself. It means give your entire energy to handling what life brings to you. Much of what life brings is great. Love, marriage, children, houses, careers...life can be very exciting. Many hands are no trouble to play, especially at the beginning. Of course, marriage can stumble into conflict, children can have issues, jobs can be lost, parents age and die, and our own health can be vulnerable.

How can our love of life be unconditional and not just flourish when times are good?

It is much like loving our children. We love them when they are small and adorable and we also love them when they are hormonally charged teenagers shrieking at the top of their lungs. I loved my life when it was seemingly easy and I love it now even though it is apparently hard. Life has so many mysteries, surprises, and adventures. Things that I would deem terrible, like cancer and chemo, are also ultimately transformational if I have the courage to play out the hand I have been dealt. I am stronger, saner, more connected to friends and family and more confident than before I was diagnosed. Make no mistake, I am entirely human. If someone had given me the choice, I flatly would not have taken this opportunity. I would have been even more terrified than i was had I known in advance all that I would experience. That is another wonderful thing I love about life. It just happens! I do get to choose, however, how I respond.

The sun, the clouds, a walk with a friend, the love of our families, in fact, the love all around us all the time, these are parts of life that don't fluctuate wth our mood states. Embracing life, playing the hand we are dealt and living with a steely commitment to love, these are the ingredients that enable us to love life, to embrace it, in all circumstances. And just think, when we think life has dealt us a rotten hand, it may also be one of life's greatest gifts. You just never know.

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