Wednesday, June 5, 2013


I lied!

I thought my last post was gonna be my last one about this pesky Thyroid Cancer.  But it wasn't.  THIS one might be, though!  Wheeee!

My surgery is tomorrow.

I'm finally calm about getting sliced open like a tomato and having THE PAST removed.  It is as it should be and here we are.

In speaking with tons of people, sweating my ass off in yoga classes, reading and meditating on this whole cancer ordeal, there are a lot of lessons I've learned.

Maybe these top few will help illuminate someone else on their journey, maybe they won't.  But here they are, regardless.

1.  Keep calm in the face of the storm.  Freaking out doesn't help ANYTHING.  However we feel about a situation doesn't do anything to CHANGE the situation.

Speaking of the storm, this song has been a saving grace during a lot of this hoo hah:


2.  Love and gratitude are actually much stronger emotions than loss and grief.  If someone tried telling me this a year ago, I'd likely laugh in their face.  But here I am... And it couldn't be more true.

3. A strong support system is EVERYTHING in this life.  There are so many people facing this type of thing and much worse who have very little in the ways of a solid support system.  I've run into that a lot in this journey.  We're all people.  We all have pain, joy, sorrow, anger, etc.  We all need to feel safe SOMEWHERE, we all need a shelter and a sanctuary.  We all need love and light.  And while our journeys are our own and we are essentially alone in this world, we don't need to feel lonely.

4. The more we spread light, the more light floods back to us.  It's the most magical thing to experience.  Whether you're sick, healthy, rich or poor, spread the light.  Smile.  Open the door for someone.  Call an old friend.  Be who you want other people to be in your life.

5.  Find joy in the mundane.  The little things in life can give us wings, if we pay attention.

6.  Lead with love.  If everything we do or work towards is backed by all the love in our hearts, we can reach amazing places and have the most solid and quality relationships we've ever imagined. Let your love shine out and love will come pouring in. I dare you to try it and have it NOT change your perspective on a great many things!

7.  Releasing pain does not mean it doesn't exist or that you're forgetting the people you mourn.  To me, it means cleaning up the pain aspect and making room for blessings and happiness and new memories.  It means to hold them close to your heart with love and grace, instead of sadness and torture.  I never knew this was possible until I started this cancer journey.  But I'm here to tell you... It's possible.

This Papillary Thyroid Cancer has been the biggest blessing of my life. I have learned how to dig in and dive into healing physically, emotionally and spiritually and become exactly who I am really supposed to be:  ME.

Much love and blessings on your journeys--a huge THANK YOU for reading my rambling blog posts.


Michelle Tomlinson

My Site


  1. You continue to give so much of yourself to the world. You are such an inspiration! Thank you for sharing. #7 really has hit home for me on this entry. I hope to find a peace like you have in my journey through this life as well. You are going to be great tomorrow! Bless you Doll!

    1. Thank you so much, Sweetie. Much love to YOU!

  2. Love ya... you rock and cancer will rue the day it came to visit... and yes I used RUE two days running!

  3. So glad that THE PAST is now PAST for you, Michelle. I've appreciated your sharing so honestly with the rest of us what you've gone through during this period. Your capacity to see all of the good that can come out of seemingly 'bad' experiences is a wonderful quality!
    Hope those hormones will soon be back in balance and you'll be - excuse my French - 'kickin' ass' again!