This week’s topic for my blogging group GBE2 (which, sad to say, I have been very delinquent in posting topics for this group, sorry) is ‘What if…’ First of all, I hate the what ifs because life keeps moving forward, and asking the question forces you to look backwards and maybe question some of the decisions you’ve made along the way. Every day, there are what ifs and whichever path we take or decision we make has a consequence that we just have to deal with, good or bad. Again, I hate looking backwards.
For today I’m going to think about an uncontrollable ‘what if’; a decision made for me. What if I never had cancer? It’s a big one because I have a hard time remembering who I was and what type of person I was before cancer. I don’t think I was much different personality wise, I think maybe how I see things has changed and therefore my heart and soul are little different. Ok, ok, too deep. Anyhow, there are some ‘solid’ things that have happened like if I hadn’t had cancer I wouldn’t have written a book, I wouldn’t have started a blog, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet all the amazing people along the way and done all the cool things that I’ve done because of the cancer. So here’s the heart and soul stuff….I think I would be a little more selfish, maybe a little less grateful, maybe a lot more rushed through the day, not stopping to stand in the rain or close my eyes and stick my face in the sun. I am a little different, maybe alot different, like I said, I can hardly remember my old self. I love more, my heart breaks easier, I listen more intently, and I try not to take people or days for granted. On the other side I’m alot less tolerant of jerks, mean people, angry people, ‘life-zapping’ people…waste of time and energy. So was cancer a blessing? In some ways. Would I have chosen to get it….NO WAY. What if I never had cancer? Who knows, but I accept who I am today because of it and I keep moving forward. Enough of the what ifs! Everyday a new beginning!
But what if I fail of my purpose here? It is but to keep the nerves at strain, to dry one’s eyes and laugh at a fall, and baffled, get up and begin again. -Robert Browning
Today I wear Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Suspense which again is this purply hot pink shade cool for summer. These lipsticks are cross between a lipstick and a gloss, are moisturizing and you can hardly feel them on your lips. They have great colors but go on more sheer than what you see in the tube. I love them! I chose Suspense for both the color and the name. Life is fun and living with excitement and suspense at how the day goes and who you might meet sounds like a blast, doesn’t it? Cheers!
Anna's Lipstick Journey 
What ifs really can be helpful. What if you never had cancer is a grand question to ponder. You may have become a big giant singing star instead of a big giant writing star who speaks of hope and faith and moving forward in life.
Now, which one of those would you honestly rather be…and you are singing quite beautifully again, btw.
💞
Jo, you’re awesome! Thank you!
I don’t dwell on what ifs and never have. I was raised and later driven away from my mother with constant what ifs concerning me. Through all of that, here I am now being my mothers caregiver (Alzheimers). But I don’t look back and say what if I had done this or that and then dwell on what might have been. My answer, since I was a child was “what if an airplane loses a wheel at 32,000 feet. No brainer, it will squash me like a bug. But I have never in my life walked around looking upward for that wheel. I would then miss all that is going on around me. I only look back to remember what has happened in my full life. I do look forward to what will happen, one day at a time. It isn’t about where we have been, but rather about where we are going. Whew, Bob is going for publishing! Sometimes I think you and I were twins in some past life separated by age. Guess that didn’t really work either, but you know where I’m going. Love Ya’,My Dear!
Love you Bob, yes, twins from different generations! It’s better to be positive, look forward, and be grateful for the past!
Cancer leads to major life what-ifs which you handle beautifully. What surprises me is that a cosmetic company hasn’t tapped you to show case their lipsticks. Or have they? (You’d be brilliant!)
Seriously, I’m waiting…I would love a cosmetic company lipstick deal! At least they’d know I would have true devotion!
if you didn’t (write) i never would know about all these lovely shades…of YOU!! ((hugs)) love you dear precious friend…~
Thanks Brenda! Love ya!
Your outlook is refreshing, and a perfect example of how we all should handle life’s trials. The “what ifs” are okay, in moderation, as I believe they help us to evaluate our decisions and learn how to make even better choices…but, at the same time, too much past-dwelling wastes important time to be a part of the present ,and puts our lives on pause while the future runs away from us.