johndabell Remember To Carpe Noctem
We are often told to carpe diem. And we should. We need to seize, pick, pluck, gather, tear off and enjoy whatever the day presents us with. From a poem…
Cancer And Eucatastrophe
On a personal level, cancer is catastrophic. We all know the devastation it brings but sometimes, just sometimes, there is an unexpected twist in the tale and there is a…
Agathism Is A Good Call
You might not be an optimist. You might not be a pessimist. You might therefore occupy the middle ground between the two. If that’s you, then you’ll be an agathist.…
Getting In A Tizz With Cancer
Tizita is an Amharic word that means a bittersweet remembrance and longing for a time, person, or thing gone by. Cancer survivors will know this feeling well. When I was…
Cancer And Gaman
If you have the ability to persevere and tolerate things that are unexpected or bad, difficult to get through then you display gaman. Gaman is the art of perseverance and…
Optimisium Discovered On High
I recently announced on social media that a new chemical element has been discovered: Optimisium. I discovered this myself 135m in the air riding inside the London Eye. This makes…
The Hope Opera
Hope can be an elusive concept. It can be there one minute and gone the next. Some say that it constant but for many, hope ebbs and flows. For others,…
Cancer And Anarchy
Cancer brings anarchy to life, lots of it. It disrupts, upends and shakes you like a snow globe. It brings with it disorder, lawlessness and upheaval. It brings about mayhem,…
Having A Cancer Moment
May I have a moment of your time? You will sometimes hear people of ‘advancing’ years declaring they are having ‘a senior moment’. These ‘senior moments’ often refer to a…
Gladiatorial Optimism And Me
Optimists have to work hard, damn hard. We have to think on our feet, push boundaries and face formidable foes and still maintain a smile. There is no time off.…