Samira Rajabi talks about what it means to be strong. As a survivor of many brain surgeries for cancer, she first asks, "What if strength lies in being honest, being vulnerable and being ourselves?" Then, she shares insights you might find useful in your pursuit of Healthy Survivorship.
Samira Rajabi believes strength can be defined by "the way we live with and the way we thrive alongside of our challenges." This notion meshes beautifully with my longstanding belief that "Triumph over illness is measured by how you live, not how long." (Happiness in a Storm; page 257). Here are select sentences from her piece, which you can find in the current issue of Cure:
"Society doesn’t get to paint meaning onto me."
Strength "comes from the way we choose to inhabit the space we take up, mentally, physically and spiritually. Our strength is in the way we engage with the world, and the ways in which we lift each other up."
"I am strong because I do not allow the judgments of the world to be embodied in me. I am strong because I do not choose to judge my body against any other,...rather, I choose to embolden those around me to be their best self, no matter what that looks like. I am strong because I do not stop trying to recover or at very least live while recovering, and help all those around me do the same."
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