On Sunday we will embark on a new year and put 2016 behind us. I can already hear “Hallelujah!” and believe me, I am right there with you. Although each year changes us, some years change us in bigger ways than others. 2014 was a big year for me, when my father was burned in a welding accident. It was the first major thing that had ever happened to one of my parents which opened my eyes to the heartache of losing one of them. Thankfully, through the power of prayer and the positive attitude of my father, he made it just fine and superceded the expectations of the doctors.
This year, the big change was my diagnosis of antiplastic astrocytoma, a brain tumor which was found completely by accident. I had no signs, no symptoms. It was a night of watching one of my favorite movies, Happy Gilmore, with my boyfriend Jay in the middle of August. We had fallen asleep on the couch when I woke up feeling like I was going to pass out. I remember thinking, “What is going on? Keep your eyes open!” I woke Jay up to tell him that something was not right. I am a very healthy person who had not been on any medication in several years. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had a cold. At this moment of wonder, my arms started to tingle and go numb and then went my legs. Jay called 911 right away. Of course my logical mind was making a list of things I should do before I go. Maybe it’s a mom thing? All I know is that I barely made it down the stairs after getting my hoodie. And the fall created an enviornment of panic as my kids came running to see what was going on. As a mom, the last thing you want to do is worry your children. Besides telling them that I will be in good hands, I really didn’t know what to say. The trip in the ambulance was an eventful one. The EMT swore I was just having a panic attack. Maybe by the time I was in the ambulance I was. But how would you feel, not knowing what is going on with you and seeing your children with such worry in their eyes?
To make a long story short, I was treated for low potassium at the hospital and sent home. The ER doctor told me to follow up with my family doctor in a few days if I didn’t feel better. My gut feeling was that I needed to make an appointment with my family doctor right away, which was what I did. After engaging in the usual ‘touch your nose, close your eyes and put your hands out kind of testing,’ I started to fall backwards. My doctor immediately sent me to the ER for blood work and a CT scan, which is where my journey with cancer began. Although I will have to endure MRIs every three months going into the new year, I was done with radiation as of Dec. 23. Jan. 17 will be the day when I get my first MRI since before my radiation started. I am praying for a clean MRI, so I can chuck these chemotherapy pills down the toilet. It’s a vision I have been holding in my head since this started.
Visualization is key for me. I am a very visual person, although not everyone is. I love creating visualization boards with my goals, dreams and anything that inspires me. A lot of people will create a new board going into the new year. And I feel it is a great idea.
You can use Pinterest, if you like, to make a digital one, or use a canvas, magazines and some glue. The other option would be to use a cork board with thumbtacks.
An example of a handmade visualization board
An example of a Pinterest visualization board
You can add inspirational words, vacations and any pictures of what you’d like to come into your life. During my life coaching sessions I will make the suggestion to journal and write out what you want to attract for the new year if you aren’t into the visualization board idea. Another suggestion I make is to choose a word for the year. If you feel connected to spirit, ask them to help you choose. I have been choosing a word since 2011, when I started with patience. I had never been a patient person and still continue to work on this. However, I have come a long way. Some of my clients will choose balance, simplify, gratitude, love, peace, hope, faith, etc. There are so many to choose from.
In the beginning of 2016 I felt guided to choose change. But I felt it wasn’t just about change, but rather about accepting change. How more right could that word have been for me during this time? I guide my clients to research quotes about their word, journal about it and hold themselves accountable each day to do something related to our word. Get your family involved, and your friends. Choose a symbol to represent your word, or ask spirit to.
In 2015, I felt like I needed to choose the word focus. A lot of us know what it is like to start a project and get distracted to only realize that we have numerous projects going on and none are completed. Or, you could feel like you should be working on yourself by reading, meditating, working out or starting a new hobby, but you distract yourself with your phone, computer, the TV and anything that keeps you from working on you. A lot of people do not want to work on themselves. What I found in 2015 was that when I was not focusing on working on myself, I would see Ford Focuses everywhere on the street and in parking lots. I would giggle to myself knowing that spirit is trying to tell me to get moving on my word.
In 2013, I had picked the word joy. My symbol for joy is a red balloon.
Amy’s symbol for joy is a red balloon.
Whenever I was lacking joy, I would see a red balloon. I chose joy because I feel like most of us take on too much responsibility and forget to have fun. We must allow our inner child to shine daily or life will become too serious, dull and boring or frustrating. A few times during this year I was seeing a red balloon. Because of this, I knew in my heart that I had to choose joy for 2017. Once I made the decision to do so, I started seeing red balloons everywhere. One just went up in the sky in front of my friend’s car on our way home from the hospital the other day.
I believe after these last few months of enduring brain surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, that joy is the best thing I could work on. Every time I see a red balloon, I thank spirit for the reminder that I must laugh more, spend more time with the people I love, and have more fun.
What do you aspire to do and become in 2017? Are you working on eating healthier, starting a new career, moving, going back to school, ditching all that is no longer healthy for your journey? Sometimes simplifying is the best thing one can do in order to move forward. I am definitely moving forward in 2017 as I stay in the attitude of joy as much as I can. Life can throw things at us that we do not expect. As long as we choose to stay focused on the things that bring us joy–the things that keep us in a state of gratitude–blessings will be found and will continue to be found everywhere.
I would love for you to try this out for the new year. And do not worry if you have a million words you think you should be working on since that was the case for me. While working on my one word for each year, I realized I had learned tons of others along the way. For example, when my word was joy before, I decided to try zip-lining, although I had a major fear of heights. Not only did I find it to be one of the most exciting things ever, but it was also a big lesson in being brave (which so happened to be one of the words on my list that year). If you are interested in finding your word, here is a great site to search: http://positivewordsresearch.
My wish for all of us in 2017 is to be in perfect health–mind, body and spirit–to be motivated and inspired daily, to be able to simplify our lives, and for us to be brave, hopeful and always in a state of faith and gratitude.
God bless and Happy New Year!
Amy Musser
Amy Musser, a Hellertown resident, is a spiritual adviser and the owner of The Angel Whisperer, based at Sacred Space. She was diagnosed with grade 3 astrocytoma, a type of brain cancer, over the summer. She documents her progress fighting the disease and shares inspiration on her Facebook page.
