I didn’t know Delores very well. I met her about ten years ago when she was diagnosed with cancer. We both lived in Santa Cruz, and she went to Medford, Oregon, to attend our Cancer as a Turning Point™ conference there. We stayed in touch.
When she had a recurrence of her cancer many months later, she told me that she didn’t think she had it in her to fight it again. She felt so alone in her life. She didn’t have a partner and said she was lonely and didn’t feel loved. Her life was a struggle without much joy. She died a few months later.
I attended her memorial service and was surprised that there were about 300 people there. When an opportunity was given for people in the audience to tell Delores stories, or say something about their experience of her, it went on for a long time. Many people stood up and told stories of what a difference Delores had made in their lives. They talked about what a joy it had been to travel or work or play with her. There were funny stories, loving stories, and many tears shed.
I felt sad that Delores hadn’t heard this outpouring of love for her while she was living with cancer. I wondered if it would have made a difference in her will to live. I wished that people could have the opportunity to know what their lives mean to others while they are still alive.
I feel like that is the gift I am receiving now. I didn’t plan for it or specifically ask for it now, but I must have planted that seed when I was at Delores’s memorial service and had that wish for myself. When the Healing Journeys Board decided to have a Virtual Birthday Party for my 70th birthday this year, that seed got watered and grew.
I am so moved by the comments you have been sending me along with your donations. Healing Journeys has been my life’s work for the past 17 years and it is so fulfilling to know what a difference it has made in so many lives. Your donations to help keep the conference alive, and your heart-felt sharings are an incredible gift to me. I’m so grateful to be receiving your wonderful messages while I can hear and enjoy them. Bless you. You are the wind beneath my wings and I’m flying high.
Leave a comment, or read comments left by others.
In the spirit of healing,
Jan Adrian, MSW
Founder and Executive Director
Hi there,
Thank you for sharing this strong message of telling people, family, friends that they are cared about and loved, that they are really not alone; that they are worthwhile individuals who do make a difference. There have been times during my life alone, I have felt that I don’t make a difference (usually when I’m feeling a loss or lost) and those days are very hard to struggle through. So, please continue to spread this message any way you can. Many more years with much success, love and happiness to you always in your many endeavors to bring purpose, love and hope to those feeling hopeless. Sincerely, Cathryne (my purpose – Grief Recovery Specialist)
Dear Jan,
I want to thank you for your passion and vision of Healing Journeys. I have attended your conferences several times in Sacramento, and have found hope, joy, and information to deal with life with cancer! Thank you for your desire to help others, and for putting together these conferences. You have be a BIG BLESSING to many!
Have a wonderful 70th Birthday, and ENJOY, KNOWING that your life HAS made a DIFFERENCE to those who have met you! WISHING you many more birthdays filled with LOVE!
Warmly,
Laura Meert
P.S. Enjoy the warmth of those 70 candles!!!!
Jan, We have known each other for quite some time now, and Healing Journeys & YOU will always have a special place in my heart, my life. It is SOOOOOOO SPECIAL what you have created with HJ, and the thousands of lives that you have enhanced with added joy, and strength over the years, must give you an extremely fufilled feeling. Have a wonderful summer…. Cheryl
Jan,
You, and Healing Journeys, have been the wind beneath so many of our wings, often at a time when we are vulnerable, sensitive and needful. Your thanks are appreciated but it’s mutual!
I was a participant in your 2004 conference in Sacramento…it was extraordinary in every possible way…I have it with me still, in my body, in my soul.
Thank You
Jan, Happy Birthday; 70, so far has been a joy for me. I feel cured of breast cancer, as does my daughter who was diagnosed a year after me.
Your conference has meant a great deal to me! I do hope it will continue.
Ruth
Jan, I attended the Seattle conference that was held a few years after my bout of ovarian cancer in 2003. I was physically fine but felt blocked emotionally. I saw down at the morning opening, began weeping and kept weeping for the next two years! I attribute the conference with helping me break into a new layer of healing, tears and all. I’m grateful for that conference experience and the resources I came away with. The healing process continues and now I’m able to share it with others in the midst of their own healing, as we all continue to be once we are affected by cancer. Thank you for the Great Work you have brought to the world. Marya
My first Healing Journeys Conference was in San Rafael in 2003 -what a gift it was! From the conference came the opportunity to participate in 2 research studies and out of those experiences I was written about in 2 books AND that never would have happened without your Blessed Conference and the POWER and JOY it gives to thousands who attend. Healing Journeys and your vision gives the attendees the strength and the ability to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. You are a tool that almighty uses to move in powerful ways and I am so grateful to you for your courage to begin this conference. Thank you Jan and we are all so blessed the day you graced our planet! May blessings flow back to you for many years to come. Much Love, Teena
Dear Jan, I read your note about Delores. I have often thought that instead of having memorial services, we should have days of celebration, maybe on a birthday or just select a day. At the memorial service you hear all sorts of things about a person that you never knew. It would be good to know those things before the person is gone, and as in the case of Delores, it would be good for the person to hear how much they are loved and valued. We all need to tell each other how much we value them. And I am so proud of you and how much you have accomplished. You have made a difference to so many people. My best to you for the future. g
I love you, Jan. Thank you for belonging to more than one or a few people.