Inspiration in Paris

The last couple of days in Paris have been jam-packed and fun. From a trip to the Notre Dame to a cruise on the Seine to a walk down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe, we've hit many of the sights that make Paris the fabulous city it is. We've gazed at the Eiffel Tower at night and shopped at boutiques by day. With a bit of effort, we've also managed to find fantastic vegan eats (although ordering something without cheese is close to heresy over here). On top of our action-packed sightseeing which always includes miles of walking, I've managed to either complete my Insanity workout or hit the hotel gym on a daily basis -- you remember what I said about no days off, right?

I'd have to say, though, that my favorite experience in Paris thus far was my time in the Louvre. Of course, I took in the most popular attractions -- the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo --  and was blown away by the grandeur of Napoleon's Apartments (after seeing those incredible rooms, I can only conclude that the French are not minimalists). I looked with wonderment at the art produced in Italy during the Renaissance period -- a truly magical era for art and expression. I gazed at the Grecian sculptures, perfect renditions of the human body with faces etched in marble that held so much emotion. 

It was in the sculpture garden that I found my favorite piece, one that spoke directly to me and will continue to do so forever, I hope. It was a sculpture of a man, holding a rock in his right hand, poised to throw it down with force. His left hand grasped a snake, a huge and fearsome looking creature just itching to attack him with his massive fangs. The man's face is determined, as if he was steadied and utterly focused on besting his nemesis, and his stance is strong and in control. From the flow of the work, it's pretty clear that he's got the upper hand despite the life-threatening pickle he'd got himself into.

I immediately connected to this work and felt it symbolized my own battle with cancer. Yes, the beast was ugly, and scary, and powerful in its own right. But unfazed by all that, I simply got down to business. I grabbed cancer by its neck, grabbed a rock (a rock that looked a lot like chemotherapy drugs and a scalpel) with my free hand, and beat that sucker down. And that's what I'm doing every day. Every trip to the gym, every meal I eat, and every breath I take is focused on keeping that snake down, defeated, and dead. Every cancer patient thinks about recurrence of the disease, and I'm no different. But as I owned my battle against cancer when it was running wild in my body, I'm owning it now in remission. My health and my triumph over the disease for now and for the next 100 years, is up to me. I am the warrior with the rock in my hand, and I'll always be poised to attack the evil interloper.