Poster: "Just Be"   Kobi Yamada

About JUST BE Reflections

Premeditated with Simplicity
. . . by Sarah Kelzenberg

In the process of a bone marrow transplant for my second cancer, I began to develop a deeper spiritual life through yoga, meditation and spiritual reading. Throughout my treatment, I found incredible support for mind & body from my wonderful family and awesome friends. From these I gained the strength and tenacity to keep myself centered and balanced. I also found that I needed that place within me called spirit, from whence I could nurture my connection with the Divine, who I call God. At some point I began to write down words that really spoke to me: from books, posters and cards that were sent to me. It's amazing how these words, combined with the understandings inherent in yoga, meditation and spiritual reading, ever-so-gradually brought about the enhanced connection with God I so needed.

Since I needed to be less active after the transplant, I began to find things to do sitting down. One of those things was desktop publishing, which I had learned and used to a small degree in my job. I found a perfect vehicle for taking the encouraging words of others and making them into what I call Spirit Posters, small and full paper size. I then progressed to making cards to send to others. I am now nine years out from the transplant and I have quite a collection of these posters and cards, which I have shared with many relatives and friends through the years.

I fell into this website from the desire to make the Spirit Posters available to anyone who likes them. I call this collection JUST BE Reflections because they have taught me to BE instead of always to DO. They are not just for cancer survivors; rather I feel they are desirable to anyone wanting to nurture their spirit.

The most amazing, item you will find available on this website is a booklet I wrote for cancer patients and survivors. Since 1993, I have been challenged by cancer. Many friends noticed my positive attitude toward my "battles", including chemo and radiation for breast cancer; high-dose chemo, full marrow irradiation, and the transplant for multiple myeloma, a rare and terminal form of leukemia; and then sundry treatments post-transplant. They encouraged me to write a book about how to stay positive during such battles. In the end, I decided that I didn't want to couch my words in battle language. Rather I tried to find a metaphor that better suited a positive attitude. As you can read in my booklet, FINDING YOUR BALANCE ON THE CANCER CAROUSEL, it takes a lot of energy to stay positive, so I had to drop the negative energy somewhere along the way. In the booklet, I try to explain my cancer journey in the metaphor of a carousel ride, with all of its ups and downs and the sense of going round and round with treatments and side effects of those treatments. It works for me. I hope that it works in some way for you.

My posters and cards and the booklet are described on separate pages. I feel privileged that anyone would want to access my efforts to keep my balance in the face of daunting challenges.

I wish you the best, whatever your present journey entails.

Namaste