Last week I focused on #4 in my “treatment” plan – feeling love/joy/happiness. After attending a three-day conference in Stamford, CT, I spent a few days in New York City with my friend, Carol (Past-President of Healing Journeys’ Board of Directors). The energy in the City was so intense that it was easy to be in the present and not think about all the work waiting to be done at home.

Much of what we did in New York was just ADL (Activities of Daily Living – a phrase I learned from Carol, who is a nurse). We walked a lot, slept, and ate, but we were doing these Activities of Daily Living in NYC. This context made all the difference in the world. I felt free and I felt happy.

This picture is us in Strawberry Fields in Central Park. That smile on my face is happiness and joy in the moment. It was a beautiful day and everyone we met was friendly. When we were hungry, it seemed easy to find a restaurant that served organic food and pastured meats and that was over-the-top delicious.

The Book of Mormon is the hottest show on Broadway right now. It was sold out, so we stood in the Cancellation line for almost two hours – and we got 5th row center seats. The promises friends had made that it would make me laugh out loud were all true. It was outrageously funny.

After three days of happiness and joy, I’m asking why I don’t give myself this gift more often. Why do I only allow myself a few play-days tacked onto a trip whose main purpose was attending a cancer conference? Even my oncologist suggested that I make some travel plans that weren’t related to cancer.

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