CoppaFeel! founder on how cancer shines a light on the ‘now’ as your future is under threat
WE are at that time of year at CoppaFeel! when we start planning ahead to the next – deciding how we are going to create even more impact and ensure you lot check your boobs.
It will be our tenth boob-chatting year and hearing the team talk about some of the plans gets me very excited.
But planning ahead for me is a different story. Cancer shines a very bright light on the “now”, because your future is under threat.
If you have heard of “mindfulness”, you will know about the benefits of living in the present.
Paying more attention to the precise moment you are in, your own thoughts and feelings and to the world around you can improve your mental wellbeing.
Mindfulness can help us enjoy life more and understand ourselves better.
I have never been a big one for planning ahead, so this suits me well. But that doesn’t mean it’s OK to be terrified about putting things in the diary months in advance, does it?
Being 33 means wedding “save the date” notes take up a big chunk of space on my fridge.
Each time I open these cards, I can’t help but think: “It would be lovely to be alive to see them get hitched.”
Of course, having something to look forward to is important, something to aim for, but committing is really hard for me. The upside of this fear means I make decisions about things in the near future at lightning speed and I love being spontaneous. Life is so much richer and more fun that way.
Without being so very aware of your mortality, how do you really appreciate the now?
I witness people on a daily basis very much living in their heads or their phones, and I feel lucky to be so acutely aware of life and how precious it is.
I really don’t recommend getting a life-limiting illness. In fact, my message here is to not wait until you are confronted with death to really LIVE today. That doesn’t mean every day has to be exciting.
It’s actually the little things that need to be appreciated, too.
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Sat here next to my laptop is a 2019 planner and I have decided to confront my fear and write in it a very important engagement: SEEING SPICE GIRLS IN MANCHESTER on June 1, 2019.
Now if that isn’t something pretty mighty to aim for, I don’t know what is.