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| IMAGE : ALBERT BREDENHANN | Gerdi And Her Friends |
I watched a beautiful video recently based upon the woman above, Gerdi McKenna. Have you seen it? If not, you can watch it here. In the video, Gerdi's friends get together for a special photo shoot to support her through a recent breast cancer diagnosis. I don't share this as lightly as I do most other things, because there are many raw nerves attached to a cancer story; especially amongst the regular readers here.
Sadly, as we reach our thirties and forties most of us seem to know someone who is moving or has moved through cancer's treacherous and unforgiving journey. The video may be easy viewing for you if you're lucky enough to have remained largely immune to the impact of the disease, or it may be a little tough because perhaps you know someone either close by or once removed, who has been through this or indeed through a similar illness with varied outcomes. Nonetheless, there's joy in the moment for Gerdi and her friends, and with the notion of wonderful friendships in mind, it's worth watching and celebrating her story (despite the Meatloaf soundtrack).
What struck me about the video and compelled me to share, was that Gerdi's story strongly represents not only the love that girlfriends, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters share in times of need, but also the lengths that they often go to, to ensure that their loved one doesn't feel alone in whatever challenge they're facing. If I'm honest, it brought up a little sudden sadness for me, I guess because the personal familiarity and emotion of the story was a little unexpected after I flippantly pressed the 'play' button. On the other hand though, it prompted me firstly to reflect upon some wonderful, cherished memories I have of loved ones and secondly to always remember the importance of stepping beyond a comfort zone in a treasured friendship or relationship, to say "Whatever you're going through, I'm here and I'm standing beside you".
That brought tears to my eyes. It's true, hair is such a small thing bit your health is more important and most certainly wonderful friends like that. A lovely post, thank you.
ReplyDeleteDo you follow Trish @ My Little Drummer Boys? She makes me a better person and every time I read one of her posts it gives me the kick in the pants I need to realise how amazing I have it. Lovely post.
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