My craft of choice is embroidery. I find the repetitive action of making little stitches to be meditative and the end result to be satisfying. But with every project I’ve ever worked on, there’s an inevitable moment in the middle when I absolutely HATE it. I think, “Oh no! This looks horrible! What have I done?”
It’s at this point that I have a choice to make – Do I quit? Do I pull out all the stitches and start over? Do I throw the whole thing away?
Or…
Do I keep going anyway? Do I decide to embrace the imperfection and press on in hope that what I’m doing will work itself out in the end?
I always do, and I always love the end result.
As a cancer survivor, I know firsthand what it’s like to sit in uncertainty – to feel overwhelmed, afraid, and disconnected from my own story. I also know how powerful it is to create something in the midst of that. The creative process itself is steeped in uncertainty. Mistakes become part of the masterpiece. We hit roadblocks and invent new ways forward. We often don’t know what we’re creating until it’s done–and somehow, that’s where the magic lies.
Engaging in creativity is willingly choosing to embrace uncertainty. When we talk about resilience, we often imagine it as pushing through the pain, standing tall, staying strong. But sometimes, resilience looks like something much quieter.
Sometimes it looks like picking up a paintbrush when everything feels uncertain.
Or writing a poem when you don’t know what to say.
Or showing up to a virtual workshop just to know you’re not alone.
Each time I pick up my needle and thread and decide to simply keep going despite the uncertainty of what the end result will be, I am learning to become more resilient. Engaging in the creative process teaches us to keep moving forward even in the midst of uncertainty – whether it’s uncertainty about what a mess of fabric and threads will eventually become, or whether it’s uncertainty about something much bigger, like the results of a PET scan, whether or not my treatment will work, if my fertility has been impacted, or if my cancer might return.
That’s what we see in our creative programs at Cactus Cancer Society. Young adults facing cancer step into the unknown every single day in our workshops. And when they make art, they’re not just expressing themselves. They’re learning to befriend uncertainty, to create in spite of fear, to keep going, one messy brush stroke at a time.
Sure, learning a new form of art is fun!
Sure, it’s exciting to get a box of art supplies in the mail!
Sure, completing a project provides a sense of accomplishment!
But it’s about so much more than that. Our programs aren’t just “craft nights.” They’re spaces of transformation, connection, and healing.
In the midst of something as earth-shattering as a cancer diagnosis, the value of resilience cannot be understated.
Our fiscal year is coming to a close on June 30th and we are aiming to raise $5,000 to support our creative programming. This amount will allow us to provide art supply boxes to an additional 100 young adult cancer patients and survivors in the next fiscal year.
So let me ask you a simple question – will you join us?
Will you help us continue this important work of strengthening resilience in each young adult facing cancer who joins our creative programs?
