With the election happening tomorrow, there is a lot of tension and anxiety in our country. Given how divided we are, it is easy to feel discouraged. However, along the darkest parts of our journey on the road of life, there is hidden treasure.
On July 17, 2023, I found out that I had cancer. My doctor said she wanted to see me in 9 days as she had some results to discuss with me. I knew that wasn’t good, so I went online to the patient portal and downloaded my results. I sent them to my brother, who is a doctor. It was 11 p.m. in Ireland, and normally he would be in bed, but lucky for me, he was still up. I called him. He said, “Well, Ciara, you have stage 2b breast cancer. You’re going to be fine. I’m not worried about you.” And then the most important words he said: “I’ve seen you do much harder things. Next year is going to be rough. But you are going to get through this. You are tough. You can do this.”
After the call, I went downstairs to make myself a sandwich. I thought about how it was truly a blessing that my brother, who’s a doctor and knows me so well, shared the results with me in such a personal way. He framed my whole journey, saying he’d seen me do harder things and that I was going to be able to face and beat cancer. Thinking about it more, I realized that in the past, when I’d done hard things, I often hadn’t even realized they were hard. In the middle of trying to build Green Our Planet, or whatever it was, I would just battle on, unaware of the difficulty. But this time, my brother had framed it for me – this was going to be a hard journey, but I was going to triumph.
In the following weeks, as I navigated the medical system and planned my surgery, I kept thinking about the gift my brother had given me. It made me realize I had a unique opportunity. I could decide what I wanted out of this journey and shape how it would be. So, in the days after my surgery, lying on the sofa in an Airbnb looking out at the LA skyline, I thought about what I wanted from this journey. I decided that Ciara 2.0 would emerge from it, that by going through these challenges, I’d gain wisdom. While healing after chemo, radiation, or whatever I’d face, I’d reflect on my 53 years and hopefully find insights that would positively shift my path when I emerged from cancer. This was my opportunity for Ciara 2.0.
Another thought I had was that cancer is frightening and affects many people. If I shared my journey with the Green Our Planet team, my friends, and my family, perhaps I could inspire others. Maybe when someone else who knows me and my story gets a cancer diagnosis, they won’t be so scared. That’s what happened to me. I had two very good friends, Kristin and Tierney, who had cancer recently, and they generously shared their journeys with me. I found it inspiring. They showed me that cancer can be conquered and that beauty can emerge from it. So, I crafted my Cancer Mission and wrote it on the board next to my desk, where I see it every day:
I will beat cancer! Cancer is a stepping stone. My cancer journey is filled with beauty and love. I will inspire others through my battle with cancer. I got this! I will triumph! The best is yet to come!
So why am I sharing all this with you today? Because what I’ve learned over the past 9 months is that, along the darkest parts of our journey on the road of life, there is hidden treasure. As I went through my cancer journey, I saw all the beauty along the way, the inspiration I received from other people, the love and kindness shown to me, and the gift of time to reflect on my life. None of this beauty would have happened without cancer. I believe that in our obstacles, there are always opportunities for growth and change, but the key is how we frame it. This November, one side is going to lose the election. Given how evenly divided our country is, this means that half the country – our friends, families, colleagues, and loved ones – may struggle with the outcome and feel fearful about what lies ahead.
So I choose this as my post-election mission statement: No matter the outcome, I will work even harder to unite my community through the work we do at Green Our Planet. I will ask questions before making sweeping statements about others with different opinions, I will learn from those with different perspectives, and I will be one of many who believes in and works to preserve the United States of America.
