It's All About How You Say It!

Eight years ago, Salem had its first ever American Cancer Society Relay for Life.  I participated in that event and have participated in some way each year since.  Every year I felt something was wrong.  I discovered recently why I had negative feelings about the event.  This year I decided to form my own Relay team – Team Imagine.  There was a specific reason for the name and our own personal cause.

You see (and I know I will get some bad press here but it has to be said…) I am not a big fan of ACS as an organization.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I am against finding a cure for cancer; I am just against big business making a business out of “fighting” cancer.

“I was once asked why I don’t participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I’ll be there.” Mother Teresa

I have to take Mother Teresa’s take on life.  I refuse to “fight” for anything.  When you give your energy to fighting, all you get is more to fight about – it’s the Law of Attraction.

Team Imagines theme focused on a world without cancer.  “Imagine” that!  Imagine a world where people understood that smoking is bad for you and causes cancer; Imagine knowing why genetically modified foods cause cancer; Imagine understanding why all this plastic around us can cause cancer; Imagine not poisoning our bodies with artificial sweeteners because we know better…just Imagine.

Our team was about avoidance – not fighting for “the cause."  It was about educating people on why household toxins can cause cancer (among other things!)  It was about taking that first step so that future generations can live cleaner healthier lives and reduce the number of cancer diagnoses in the world.

There is so much that we have built as a society that has been built to make our lives more convenient and easy.  This “on-the-go” society we have created directly impacts the number of patients who have to hear their doctor give them the bad news – “You have cancer.”

Can cancer be avoided completely?  I personally don’t think so.  There is just too much to consider in the mix and it could take generations to break gene cycles for individuals that a genetically prone to the disease.  Not to mention that even if we stopped using all the bad stuff and stopped spewing chemicals out into our atmosphere it would take generations before the air was really clean again.  Not to mention that even in nature there are natural carcinogens present all the time like radon for example. But we can make an impact.

The reality here is that we are not going to stop using all the bad things.  Why? Because it is our “norm”, it’s convenient and people generally do not do change well.  I still use things I shouldn’t – mostly for convenience.  I am also extremely aware of the consequences when I do and I use that on myself to make better choices.  But it’s hard.  As the saying goes “I made the bed, now I have to sleep in it!” But I can start someplace and make a small impact on my life and maybe, just maybe I can teach a few things to a few others who will in turn teach them to someone else.  From there, we can help change the world for future generations.  All it takes is one person to start.

Just think, if even one life was spared by choosing a healthy living environment – would it be worth it to you?  If the big pharmaceutical companies were not in control and the known natural remedies were available to the general public would it matter?  I think so.

A final thought. “He who controls his past, controls the future.  He who controls the present controls the past,” George Orwell's “1984.″ What do you think?