Its all about your perspective

I have a goal for the blog/vlog project that I am doing.  I will use written blogs to talk about cancer in general, give some links to things that I am following, and a little bit about what I am doing right now.  I will endeavor to make the videos more about what I am doing right now, the cancer treatments / procedures, and what I am looking towards doing.  Will this format change – probably, but this is what I will try for now.  At some point soon, I will also start to include some details on what I am learning about doing this blog, why I chose this format, and learning more video skills.

I have always joked about how life always depends on your perspective.  Sometimes I made it into a height joke as I can see farther for being taller, made a joke about someone wearing rose colored glasses, or made a point of seeing something from the other side of the looking glass.  Cancer has a way of making you look at things in a very different light. When talking about a perspective, a person needs a mental outlook that will help take the long term view.  The challenge is always about maintaining the perspective long enough.

After being told that I had cancer, I turned to the friend that always will say anything, and everything – no matter what is right or wrong – the internet.  There is some good news associated though, as you can find some things on there that are helpful.  You also get a better perspective into other people that have cancer.  I will talk about some of these guys off and on over the next couple of years, and what they are doing to make sure that their perspective stays on track.

One of the people that I have had a chance to follow and talk to is Steve @biznutt.  He is a fellow Sea King aviator who was diagnosed early in 2013. Like me, he has gone from a full throttle lifestyle to the point of standing still, wondering where to go next.  Steve also turned to the internet, because when cancer takes away your energy – the big comfy recliner office space has limited places to turn.  He started figuring out how to turn his downtime into what will become his future internet career http://biznutt.com/ .  But, he made a point of having fun with it.  One of the key items that I found was his youtube channel was his “how to make videos” series, which helped me believe that I could start putting something like that together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKlp3kwUUpk

Steve brings much animation and energy to his videos, and his life.  Only other patients will understand the energy bill that his body pays to maintain that.  I will talk more about him over time as we will talk about his mindset and his perspective on his future.  If you follow along with him, he is going to start building a dream cottage soon.  This is a demonstration about changing priorities and perspectives that get turned into action.  He is doing something now, and that is inspiring.

Here in Edmonton, I don’t need to look far to see much of the same inspiration.  I have met Colin @trifattytri , aspiring Ironman triathlete who was diagnosed in the fall of 2014.  Already a triathlon blogger, he has taken his thoughts on cancer to his audience and strives to continue his goal of getting to his big Hawaiian adventure.  His perspective on the long term goals are a great thing.

http://animokeepgoing.com/

One of the things I started getting into after my diagnosis was about relaxation – specifically Yoga and Meditation.  I was helped get into that in Yellowknife by our Military fitness guru Megan, and MFRC Counsellor Feroz.  The comedy value about all this, is that most who know me, will laugh when they imagine me trying yoga, or meditating (as one person called it “gettin’ my Ohm on”).  My Oafish posture and stance do not make for pretty yoga, and my outer redneck appearance deny all things meditation.

This is a long way around to state that things will change your perspective, your goals and interpretations.  I recently poked fun at Colin about having Enya on his ipod, and then when to itunes to download some myself.  I am also in the market for some recommendations on meditation tracks that are good to download, or even some yoga programs.  

So, more about these 2 characters in the future, I hope you get a chance to kick back relax and let your mind rock to Enya.....