[Mary Jo]

Good Morning all,

Hope everyone is well. I, too, have read over at the Johns Hopkin site that the information posted was not in anyway provided by them. That being said, of course, we all know how important it is to treat our bodies in a healthy manner. Diet and exericise are crucial for a good quality of life.

Guilt and the trying to figure out "what did we do wrong" to get this disease is natural, I suppose. I mean no one in life thinks anything bad will happen to them. It happens to other people, but not to us. Children are abducted, people get killed by drunk drivers, people get diseases and suffer losses. Sad, but true. Before any of us were diagnosed that stuff happened to OTHER people....then...all of a sudden something "bad" happened to us. Did we cause it to happen? I don't believe so. Did it happen because we ate wrong....had a bad attitude....didn't exercise.....smoked.....drank.....who knows. It would be nice to have an easy answer but sadly there aren't any. If it was that easy, there wouldn't be people being diagnosed with this disease every day. Some here say they did it all "right" and still got it and there are many people I know who do it all "wrong" and they are fine. So, who the heck knows.

What I do know for sure, (at least for me) is that diet and exericise are crucial for my health. It makes me feel better....I feel more energetic and I feel healthier. My attitude is huge in how I live each day the Lord gives me. I believe in a positive attitude......I believe in trying to find the good in all situations because I believe it is there. I believe our attitudes play a huge role in how we handle and live with our disease. It makes the journey a bit easier, happier, more peaceful, as I live a life that ultimately, I can't control.

I know many wonderful warriors, women and men, who lost their lives to cancer (or to other diesease) who lived a life full of purpose - full of fight - never grumbled about "why me?" but lived with a positive outlook and GREAT attitude but they still died. They died peacefully, knowing they lived their life to the fullest and came to accept what was about to happen to them. It's just life.

So, although I agree with many statements in the original post...I try not to put TOO much stock into all the "rules" as they are just that "rules." Rules suck.........rules are meant to be a guide to help us - but rules are also meant to be broken. Healthy living is just that - healthy living.......it's good for us. Will it alter our eventual fate? No, I don't think so? Will it help us live a better, quality of life.....yep, I believe it will.

So live and let live - follow the "rules" the best you can BECAUSE it's good for you - enjoy each day you're given - make the most of every day - smile - love others - give and give and give (cause it comes back to you with more blessing than you'll ever know) and then TRY to rest and leave it with God. He's got your life in His Hands!!!

Happy day...........and Peace,

Mary Jo