A couple days ago, my friend/brother Tony died. There is a hole, an emptiness in my world. In fact there are a whole lot of people who have a hole in their world that they are trying to figure out what to do with. Tony is the kind of person that turns every person he meets into his brother or sister. His wife Erica is right there with him. So much of what I say about Tony includes Erica as well.

Tony has in a sense been living with the reality of cancer his whole life. He had a genetic abnormality that made dying of cancer at a young age the most likely scenario. It became serious last October when he was diagnosed with a glioblastoma.

While cancer was very much a part of his life, especially during the last year, it did not define him, but he used it as a vehicle to become so much more. How a beautiful pearl develops comes to mind.

Erica wrote a tender blog as they both were anxious to share their experience with their loved ones, but also to share the lessons they learned with as many people as they could. If they had to pay such a great price for the lessons learned, they wanted to maximize the learning from the experience. I will not even try to start to tell their story. If you feel so inspired, click on the link below.

Moments and Miracles

So, my blog here is a health and wellness blog. Why am I sharing this? Remember how there are multiple facets to wellness. If all are not addressed, you can't find balance. Today's post touches just a little on the under-acknowledged facet of spirituality. Not only that but wellness does not have to mean perfect health. No matter what the physical state of your body, or condition you may have, you can work towards your own best level of wellness. My definition of wellness is different than yours is, because it is unique to me.

So today, I would like to share some lessons I have observed/learned from Tony and his family (warning...they are not a few):

• When you view every person you meet as your brother or sister, you love them instantly
• Tell people you love them
• When you tell people you love them, it warms their heart and they love you back
• Families really can be together forever
• Forever Families start with how we treat each other right now. It is not something that happens later
• The Gospel of Jesus Christ is real and it is here on the earth
• Patience is possible, even if it is hard
• The ideas popular in our culture just don't matter. What matters is following the inspiration you receive
• Tony and Erica have a large young family despite what our world would say they should do
• God the Father is real and He is very much a part of our lives
• Jesus Christ is real, and He knows us individually and intimately 
• The healing power of Christ's Atonement works
• Note: This was very important to Tony. As the end grew close, his main message he wanted to share was if you have tried everything and nothing works, then give the Gospel of Jesus Christ a real chance. He knew the healing it gave his heart and he wanted to share that with everyone
• Grief and pain can be overcome-you do not have to become embittered
• Not only did Tony have to face the reality of his diagnosis, but when he was a young boy, his mother died of cancer. He has known other loved ones as well who due to this genetic abnormality have died of cancer
• Grief and pain can help you understand and help others who also are trying to get through their own grief and pain
• Hard things can be overcome with help from above
• A lingering death does not have to be feared. There is so much that is missed in a life that is euthanized
• Look for the tender mercies...they are miracles in disguise
• Gratitude for life's blessings makes life full of wonder and beauty
• Prayers do get answered, even if they are not answered in the way we want them to
• Talk to your kids about things of great importance
• When we turn our will over to the will of God, He will heal our hearts 
• As our hearts are healed, we in turn can help others to find that healing
• Smile and laugh lots
• Make others smile and laugh
• Despite the fact that life is hard, life is good
• It is possible to have impossibly hard times and to face them with faith, not fear
• Roll with the punches...we really have very little control of what happens in life. What we can control is how we face life
• What perspective/vision you have makes all the difference - We need to remember that each of us are are more valuable and important than we can even comprehend.  Our value isn't based on money, but on our individual worth as spirit children of God, our Heavenly Father.  My husband and Tony had many talks about how we are each spirit children of our Heavenly Father having a physical experiences.  With the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father that will never leave us, it makes it a little easier to endure today's trials with hope and faith that these trials are only temporary, and don't last forever.