Thankful For The Glass

Two of our children, Jessica and Daniel, are cancer survivors. When a person survives cancer it gives them a unique perspective on life others don’t have. Daniel started chemotherapy the day after his 29^th birthday. Three weeks later our son who has been working out in the gym since eighth grade and had been the picture of health, had lost over 20 pounds / 10 kilograms. The chemo stole his weight, his hair and his strength.

You’ve heard the definitions of optimists and pessimists when they look at a glass of water. The optimist views the glass as half full and the pessimist looking at the same glass of water looks at it as half empty. They see the same glass, but have opposite views. Daniel explains the water glass differently. He says when you survive cancer you are thankful just to have the glass. As long as we have the glass (life) we have hope and something to be thankful for. Everyone reading this has the glass. Life circumstances (the water level) ebb and flow, sometimes filling, other times pouring out. But our attitudes don’t have to change with our circumstances. Napoleon Hill said, “In every adversity there is the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.” We look for that seed, even in the painful experiences of life.

Daniel is back in the gym and looking at him now you would never know he had cancer.  He’s been promoted at his job twice since his recovery. He worked throughout his treatment and I never heard him complain.  He still had the glass and the attitude that it would begin filling again. It has.

Standing water becomes stagnant. Our lives can become stagnant too if we stand too long.  Thanh and I agree with John Maxwell’s statement about making our lives like a river rather than a reservoir. When we established The Encourage Team we recognized the power of encouragement in our own lives and the lives of others. Our vision is to be a flowing river of  encouragement, building a worldwide community of encouragers, and providing tools that help people live their best lives. If you are reading this, you are one of those encouragers. Be encouraged and keep on encouraging.

Be a River.

We are thankful for you.

Your Encouraging Friend,

Mark Hemingway from TheEncourageTeam.com

P.S. Jessica is also healthy now being a busy mother of two young boys, wife and Spanish teacher.