Shield (March 24th 2020)-by Sandra Richardson

Lucky … a guest post by Sandra Richardson…

I am lucky
I am lucky to be alive,

I am lucky to have Clare,
I am lucky to have wonderful family, amazing friends,
I am lucky to have a golden heart, gifts, a social conscience.

I am lucky
I am lucky to be alive
I have more love in my life than I ever dreamt of.

I am lucky.
I have food in the cupboard,
an army of strangers and friends with their shields... Shields
shielding me

I am lucky
Our street has a WhatsApp group,
neighbours asking does anyone need anything. fresh fruit and veg left on our step
neighbours with chickens offering eggs.

I am lucky
I am lucky to be alive
That I managed to stay stable with Stage 4 cancer for two years.

Stable, Nothing has changed,
two years ago I thought I could well be dead by now.

But that’s not just LUCKY,
that Is a first class (underfunded) NHS with capacity to treat me.
Long may that last...
We are lucky

When I got my shock diagnosis the only thing that mattered to me was love, those I loved - those who loved me.

I am Lucky
I am surrounded by humanity.
I see human kindness,
experience the best from people around me.

That’s the gift my cancer journey gives me,
so relevant now.
To somehow accept that this fear will run deep in all our lives

To somehow accept our own and others vulnerability...

We are Lucky
Loving Kindness
This is our greatest shield.

Originally published 24th March 2020

Original comment: yes, loving kindness is a shield - wonderful image X