Eric’s Sunday Sermon; Cancer

Cancer causes good days and bad days. You can die from cancer. You can die of the cures for cancer. Personally I prefer Tropic of Cancer. And Cancer is a Zodiac sign. Even cancer has good things within the term. Cancer is basically a crab. (Latin) But I bet you just thought of cancer as a disease at first. Cancer is a constellation in the sky, Northern Hemisphere.

A bunch of people die every day from cancer. I survived a horrible stage 4 cancer and now I have another cancer just sitting around inside of me waiting for the chance to spread. This is a normal cancer found early by accident.

Let us get something straight. I get some misery but if my life is effected by cancer, bring it on. Not all cancers are the same and never a single person the same. Obviously this stinks for some but is good news for others. Ain’t that just life in a nutshell. I surthrive with cancer. Clearly that is nuts.

Now pick the time, place and the circumstance and drive your car over 100 mph. This everyone should do from time to time. But don’t go out and get cancer from time to time. I get depressed sometimes about having cancer so I go to yoga for cancer patients and see a cancer therapist. Both are awesome. (danged covid) Covid is danged here as I miss the comradery of yoga and the great chats with someone who gets the issues. Note that I do not call them “problems”. Hey, dying is a problem, it is the ultimate, kind of, losing. I do not like losing except sometimes with my youngest in soccer.

Here is a fun one. There is no expense spared in me eating really great health food. OK, it takes time to get used to, but once there it is great. It really only excludes pre-processed foods.

Stress is not good for a cancer person. So I get to avoid it. How cool is that? I have to get plenty of healthy exercise and make sure I spend time in nature for its palliative influence.

Are we getting the picture of combating cancer in a new age way? Well it really can be done this way. I am still living proof. They gave me five years seven years ago. Let us start off with the next section with a joke of sorts.

So the man goes into his doctor and inquires how he can live a longer healthier life. The doctor tells the 80 year old that it basically is easy. Then he inquires; Do you drink? No. Do you smoke? No. Do you gallivant with multiple women? No. Do you eat healthy foods? Yes. Do you exercise daily? Yes. Do you spend time in prayer and/or meditation? Yes. Do you take all your medications and vitamins? Yes.

The doctor steps back and looks perplexed at the man. After a minute or so. He just asks the man why he wants to live longer.

Now my life follows the above. And I accept it may look boring but being alive is exciting enough.

There was this other man. We will play his anthem above. He spent some time in jails as he drinks a bit too much. In honkey tonks and county fairs and on street corners he found happy. He simply danced across the South. I heard his name was Bojangles. Don’t know the truth there but I mimic the legend.

There is another tale about a young man at home and he hears his daddy tell his momma that he had it in him. It was the boogie woogie and the boy would thrill the people. And the boy was alive he felt so good all night long. I am not talented with my music but I love to boogie woogie. We will play that one next.

Now if you know me well enough you would know that I caused my cancers due to a bit too much hard living. But you would be wrong. I am certified by the government as “contracting” my cancers by the fault of others. First was fallout from heavy atomic bomb testing that floated over me at 5 years old. The new one is directly related to Round-up. I do not make this up, the government is so convinced they held others at fault enough to pay my bills.

You have got to admit that is freaky. How do they know that stuff at all? Well cancer has not yet taken my life, but the strangest thing of all is, that it has in a way given me what is my life. I think I love more fully by surviving. Cancer psychologists in the area say that that is pretty much normal.

So we just take that old cancer and say a word of prayer for those who succumbed and those suffering mightily and we place that perspective on life in general. Really bad stuff happens and too often it is the fault of another. What are you going to do? You can get angry and you should. But go with that for a little bit of time. You should question the Love of your God. Take some time and deal with that. Just accept that you will blame all manner of your problems on the really bad stuff, but too often that is wrong.

Someone asked me just the other day what it was like to be a cancer victim. My eyes got huge and I took in a gulp of air. A victim? What an idea! I went home and thought about it. Yes – I am a victim – NOT. Now I have received reports that some folks are victims. I reckon that is just how it is. I wonder what that is like. Some horrible wrong that someone has to live with, caused by another. Isn’t it better to say that “they ‘get’ to live with it”?

This is a perfectly abnormal thought. If I was a victim, what would that make a child of mine? What right do I have to pass this notion on?

For sure I have just lost a good friend to cancer which I am sure relieved him of much pain and suffering. But he never busted out with victim status. I have never met a person in love with life that felt persecuted with fate or injustice. This is not from some fine pilgrim who has seen the light. Just a person. Winning day to day battles does not make us special. Loving one another makes us special. Accepting love is the finest.

If I were to die tomorrow, I would be really bummed out. I would miss out on so much. On the other hand I believe that the soul continues on so I would probably be blown away by the coolness of it all.

Sure I mess up. I like to sleep. For me when I sleep I am enjoying it so I really do not miss out on much. That is just plain insane. But your next CT Scan might be bad so you try to enjoy what you do.

I really do give out love. I am not bragging, I just really do. A gift from God who is love. Some can teach and preach, my talent seems to be just loving. I will take that. I am here through no feat of my own. I am here to be loved and love. Now pass that on.