Navigating Cancer Through Gratitude In Costa Rica

(MENAFN- Costa Rica News) A cancer diagnosis bursts into life like an unexpected blow: fragile, vulnerable, real. But instead of asking myself“Why me?”, I chose a different path: asking myself“What for?” And from that premise, a profound, intimate journey was born, marked by gratitude-a compass that taught me to look beyond the pain. Fragility has been a teacher for learning:

1. Give Myself Permission to Feel

Optimism was always my hallmark. But suffering revealed something essential to me: to heal, it's not enough to be strong; you also need to allow yourself to be vulnerabl . So, I gave myself permission to cry, to slow down when my body demanded rest, to say“no” on difficult days. Understanding that feeling doesn't weaken, but liberates, was one of the first lessons that marked my path.

2. Nurture My Support Network

Nothing is built in solitude. From my family roots to friends, colleagues, neighbors, and beyond-an entire community became my support. Messages, prayers, flowers, soups, accompaniment... I understood that being accompanied is, in itself, a blessin . We need each other; belonging is healing.

3. Believing to Sustain Hope

Medicine offers structure, certainty, numbers; but spirituality gives light. It doesn't matter what faith guides your compass-prayer, nature, rituals, a ceremony-but embracing faith, letting go of control, and above all, believing-that is the source that nourishes hope, resilience, patience, and peace in the midst of the storm.

4. Living in the Here and Now

Life could be thought of as an agenda planned down to the smallest details. But an illness like this stops you, anchors you to the present, forces you to live“one day at a time.” Then, the ordinary becomes a miracle: breathing, tasting, speaking, writing, feeling the sun, admiring a sunrise. Every moment is imbued with value when viewed from a place of gratitude.

5. Visualizing the future as a driving force

Uncertainty lives with me, but so does the hope of what's to come. I remembered Viktor Frankl: in the midst of suffering, finding a purpose allows us to choose our attitude. So, I devised post-treatment plans: bringing art and music to hospitals in Costa Rica, making the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, celebrating healing in Banff, Canada, with my children. These aren't escapes; they are beacons that lit me up on dark days.

6. Reaching the breaking point and being reborn

When the treatment ended, I thought,“It's over.” But my body had its own dynamic: I was physically broken. The treatment was over, but the grieving process-nutritional, emotional-was just beginning. I spent several days in the hospital, slower, more demanding days. And there, once again, I discovered that, even when we think we can't go on, there's always a spark that keeps us going. Patience, gratitude, and support-from doctors, family, and community-rescue the soul.

7. Learning to live with uncertainty and trust

Six months later, life resumed its rhythm with new twists and turns: returning to work, continuing therapies, taking walks, resuming projects, but soon after, I had to face another surgery. I learned that living involves dealing with uncertainty, especially after flirting with death, but I chose to trust, embracing the present with faith:“Brave is not he who does not feel fear, but he who faces it.”

8. Counting blessings: who I am now

A year after my diagnosis, the real landscape becomes an inner landscape. Today, I contemplate the snow-capped peaks and turquoise lakes of Banff with my children-an image that once served as a mental refuge as I climbed my own steep mountain of surgeries and treatments. I am no longer the same. I appreciate the small things: a hug, a meal, a book, a conversation. I'm more measured, more spiritual, empathetic, and grateful. I've learned that letting go of resentments frees me and that forgiving allows me to travel lighter. I value those who were there, and I recognize who isn't part of my tribe. And above all, I wish to bring light where there is darkness, to witness that gratitude heals, reconnects, and transforms.

9. From Gratitude

Navigating cancer from a place of gratitude isn't a static state: it's a continuous movement between the fragile and the luminous. It's choosing to feel, to accompany oneself, to live, to plan, to be grateful, to heal, and above all, to believe. It's understanding that, sometimes, the true miracle isn't in overcoming an illness, but in reinventing oneself as more human, more fulfilled, more conscious.

I hope you can read this as a bridge that brings you closer, that heals, that inspires. And, above all, that on your own journey you find reasons to be grateful and to hold onto hope.-

>RESONANCE – Shifting Reality For those who have experienced shifts in consciousness and know that more peace, joy, and love awaits in a better living environment. A bold shared vision. A living community and hub for innovation. A sustainable ecosystem for living and working. A model for the new future.

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