365 days of hair growth in this picture. (May 8, 2019-May 8, 2020)
“Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still. ”
There is power in growing slowly.
Losing my hair to cancer two years ago taught me that moving on and returning to our old ways is not always possible— but moving forward is.
Watching my hair gradually grow back has taught me that growth is not always measurable, but whether we realize it or not…
Each day we are constantly changing.
But it’s how we measure our personal growth that makes all the difference.
Real growth is not always visible.
After my treatment ended, I so desperately wished I could snap my fingers and my life and appearance would return to my “normal” pre-cancer days but watching my slowly grow back has taught me a valuable lesson in patience and self-love.
Transformation takes time and when we focus too much on our end goals, we miss out on the process of growing.
We tend to overlook our tiny successes because we become frustrated, we haven’t achieved our end goal yet.
Life doesn’t always give us want we want; but when we look closely enough, we can see we are always being given opportunities to grow.
And our growth often occurs in darkness.
Just as a tiny seed struggles to reach the light; our challenges often push us out of our comfort zones and require us to adapt, grow or fall behind.
And this growth is hard.
Sometimes it feels like parts of us are dying.
Maybe those parts are dying.
But from the remains of what was, we can start to rebuild our lives.
This last year taught me that the in-between stages are some of the hardest parts of growth.
But when we are being stretched and challenged in a new way and pushed far out of our comfort zones—that’s when the most growth happens.
All of us must continuously grow and adapt throughout our lives.
Slowing down enough to enjoy the process of learning and growing helps us find joy in our individual journeys.
In the end, it doesn’t matter how you grow or how long it takes; all that matters is that you are growing.
May we continue to grow in faith and not fear.
May the love in our hearts and for one another continue to expand.
May we continue to move forward; despite all the obstacles in our path.
On May 1, 2020 I was blessed to be able to celebrate 2 years cancer-free!
Here is a look back at some of the highlights from the last two years of my journey:
