I have a black cat, his name is Kwazii. I’ve never had a black cat before. He is funny and charming and, you know, cat-like in his manner and personality. I need to say that I’ve never been a superstitious person. As a kid, I remember walking through bookstores and intentionally walking under the ladder that led to the higher shelves. I’d think, “Whoever you are, bringing bad luck, come get me.” Generally speaking, I emerged unscathed. Experiencing no more or less “bad luck” than the average 8 or 10 year old would. So getting a black cat never seemed a bad or strange idea. It never occurred to me that he was a harbinger of misfortune, and he hasn’t been. The thing I realize about Continue Reading
Something Different–Podcast with Rebekah and Andy of RVNFIT
This week I did something a little different–I was asked by Rebekah Van Natta to do a podcast for her site, Rebekah Van Natta.com. Rebekah is a powerhouse, small but mighty. A personal trainer, reflexologist, and all-around nice person, I was invited to sit with both Rebekah and her boyfriend, actor and fitness buff Andy Martinez for a conversation about my work as an oncology social worker, about the ways that cancer Continue Reading
Rent a Corvette! or, Find Your Corner of the Dream
When I was in 7th or 8th grade, growing up in metropolitan Detroit (that’s the Motor City to you) I joined model club. It was an after school activity led by our social studies teacher that gave kids an opportunity to talk about building models. You don’t see it so much anymore, but it used to be that model car kits were sold in every toy store, every toy section. Stacked in boxes slightly smaller than a shoe box, you could go anywhere–K-mart, Perry’s drug store, Toys-R-Us…they all had boxes depicting beautiful, showroom quality cars. Custom in every way, they were made of the smallest pieces of plastic and glued with a highly potent and odorous model glue, then painted, and buffed to perfection. The club allowed kids an opportunity to acquire tips and tricks and to also Continue Reading
Kick Out the Ducks
Years ago, when I was a teenager, watching The Oprah Winfrey Show after school, I learned a phrase that I’ve never forgotten, from none other than the inimitable Maya Angelou. She said that acting or living in response to the requests or demands of others, your own truth and will, is like “getting pecked to death by ducks”.
It is a funny image to be sure, this “getting pecked to death by ducks”, but more than that, it is something we all encounter all the time–people and obligations in our lives that erode our spirits, that take more than they give. People who, in indiscernible, seemingly innocent ways cause us to question ourselves, to feel less strong, or less worthy than we actually are.
Why “Witnessing”?
So the question may arise, as you begin to peruse my writing, “Why ‘Witnessing This Life’?”. I could have called this blog any one of a million things, and I tested out about 217 ideas on the people nearest me before landing on this, Witnessing This Life.
If you’re a fan of NCI or Law and Order, you have an idea of what a witness is. Witnessing can also be linked to a religious process of bearing witness. For me, neither of these are what I’m talking about. See, I am an oncology social worker. I work with cancer patients and the people who love them, and essentially I work in the capacity of a therapist. An advocate. A loving, impartial presence, and above all, a witness. This last is the spine, the backbone of the work that I do and why it comes to mean something to those I work with.