Breast Cancer

I often think about our many wahine Maori (Maori women) and women around the world who have died of breast cancer or are experiencing breast cancer now.

When I reflect on the lives of our Maori women I wonder…I think about why these women, sometimes women who have dedicated their lives to the health and well-being of others, who have lived and breathed love and light and all those positive things to then be overcome by such a dis-ease as breast cancer? How could this be?

It baffles me often. I try to compare the lives of these women – did they lead stressful lives and what allows one woman to come through this and another to not? Is it about determination and courage to live and get through it all, or is it her resilience?

I believe in the connection between the mind and body so are our wahine creating this dis-ease in their lives? Why? Are there things that are unrevealed and lost and hidden that we don’t know about? Perhaps this holding on to something within or hiding something is the cause?

There are a lot of dis-eases and illnesses around today that were not around during the time of our ancestors. The way in which we live our lives has changed. No longer do we hunt and gather for our food.

Today we are all about convenience – we can travel to the supermarket in our car and buy processed food that is already made for us. Some of us have decided to grow our own vegetables and live off the land but is this enough if the vegetables are eaten with a roast pork that is covered in fat followed by a chocolate pudding and ice-cream which is loaded with dairy and sugar? Both of these foods that myself and many other Maori are intolerant to? Perhaps it is the food we eat too?

I still ask the questions and perhaps through my own self-discovery and experiences and research we will find our way into the answers.

I must also remember our wahine Maori who have triumphed over this dis-ease, our wahine who have come out the other side and continued to live their lives and who have shared their stories to help others live and breathe once again. And I also ask myself what I can do to live a long and prosperous life and perhaps inspire others to do the same?

I don’t have all the answers, but one day I will live myself into the solutions and I imagine this will not be very complicated at all but rather something that is as simple as loving self and others.

Action

Reflect on your own life – are you living a healthy lifestyle? If not, what is one small step that you can do right now to change? Sometimes it can be as simple as learning to give time to ourselves, to reflect, relax and re-energise.

Inspirational Quote

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao-tzu