Hi, how are you today? How’s your week going?

Mines been fairly chilled out. Although I’ve been fighting off a cold and sore throat. I’m winning the battle though and feel much better than I did a couple of days ago.

Which is good because I have my next chemo rounds this Thursday and Friday. Something to look forward too he said sarcastically with a slight smile. I guess it’s a double edged sword really and maybe I should look forward to it because, along with everything else I’m doing, it’s making me better. The other side of the coin though is that it flattens me for a few days which is not fun. The saying ‘short term pain for long term gain’ definitely applies. Although for some chemo is not short term and that’s no fun at all. For me it will have been six months of chemo once I finish. Then I’ll have to wait for results to see if I’m in full remission. That will be a very nervous wait, but I’ll cross that bridge once I get there.

Until then every second counts. Now that was a smooth segue into the title of this post. Even if I do say so myself. I’m smiling at myself for trying to be clever.

You may recognise the photo if you’ve watched a series called ‘The Bear’. If you haven’t I recommend it. It’s very good. It’s about a dysfunctional family, and their staff, who run a restaurant. The acting is spot on and the series writer captures the essence of professional kitchens perfectly. When I was younger I worked in a few different kitchens and this show has given me a little PTSD from those times. Some kitchens were more stressful than others but they were great learning experiences for multiple reasons.

The photo is a sign in a professional kitchen that is run with military precision, but it has a deeper meaning to just the obvious. I’m not going to say more about the TV show, but watch ‘The Bear’. I think you’ll enjoy it. In Australia it’s on Disney+, but check out the streaming services in the country you live in.

The episode where the deeper meaning is revealed really hit home to me. It got me thinking about life and how it’s changed since I got a cancer diagnosis. Every second counts for many different reasons.

We live our lives moment to moment, second to second. Counting down the time until death comes tapping on our shoulder. Until that second arrives every other second counts.

What do we do with our lives? Do we take them for granted? Do we think we are indestructible? Do we try and fulfil our hopes and dreams? Can we cope with the curve balls that life throws at us? From joy to deep sorrow, how do we react? What do we want to do with our lives? Every second counts.

Every second counts can be applied on various different levels, and in lots of different ways. What does it mean to you?

If you work in one of the emergency services then every second counts when you’re responding to an emergency. If you work in a professional kitchen then every second counts when it comes to food and service. After all the customer should be having the perfect meal experience. You can apply the saying to most jobs probably in different ways.

I want to go a little deeper though. I’d like to say how that particular episode of ‘The Bear’ hit home to me in terms of every second counts.

Every second counts means living in the moment. It’s not about rushing. It means both you and I are important. It means finding your purpose.

Live your life. Be alive. Immerse yourself in every moment of it. Every second of it. It doesn’t matter if you are doing something trivial or something very important. Immerse yourself in the moment and live it. Regardless of whether you’re feeling extreme joy or extreme sorrow immerse yourself in the moment. Saviour the joy, all of it. Immerse yourself in it. Feel the sorrow, let the pain out. We don’t know what life will throw at us, we can’t control a lot of it. But we can learn from it and we can choose how we cope with it. We can let it destroy us or we can choose to grow from it. Every second counts.

Every second counts because you don’t know when your last one will be. You may see it coming but you may not. Life and death can be decided in a second. Cause and effect. You may have control over it but you may not. Every second counts.

We are all important. We shouldn’t let others define who we are. We should define who we are. Every second counts. Every second you have the potential to write your own story about who you are. Even in the darkest of times you are so very important. Don’t let others destroy your soul. Find the safe place within yourself and hang onto you.

Believe me I’ve had some very dark times in my life, but I’ve always managed to get back to myself eventually. Every second counted with that. It can’t always be rushed to find yourself but it’s important that you eventually do. Every second counts. Every second of your life is important because both you and I are important.

There are so many experiences in life, good and bad. Nothing stays the same for ever though. Life is constantly changing and you can’t always control it. You can’t stop change no matter how much you may not like it. Let go of control and immerse yourself in life.

You can find joy even in the most menial of tasks. I was a kitchen hand for a long time and it’s possible to find joy in washing up. You might not think so, but you can. Put on music you love, listen to a podcast, invest in the moment and do the best job possible. Take pride in what you do and make it work for you. It will actually make you feel better about yourself. It doesn’t matter if no-one else notices because you know you did your best. That’s all that matters. Every second counts.

Love yourself, take pride in yourself, live your life. Slow down and live in the moment. It’s amazing how you can slow down and extend time just by living moment to moment, as much as possible. It takes practice and I’m sure no one’s perfect at it but aspects of it are attainable. Every second counts.

When you have cancer and are potentially facing death a lot sooner than you’d like every second does count. Whether it’s spending time with family or friends. Time on your own or time with others. Playing video games or going shopping. Reading a book or writing a blog post. Every second counts. It really does, and I think about it a lot. Make the most of everything, even when you’re doing nothing.

I think you may be getting the idea of what I’m going on about. Immerse yourself in life. Don’t let it drift by. Don’t take it for granted. Your life is yours not mine. My life is mine not yours. Take a moment and ask yourself “How do I want to live my life?” Then watch the seconds unfold as you give yourself an answer. Be completely honest with yourself. How do you want to live your life? Not how others think you should. It’s what you feel that counts. How do I want to live my life because every second counts. You don’t want to have regrets when death comes knocking on your shoulder.

I’m going to wrap it up there. I’ll let you ponder on it all and hopefully it makes sense to you. Thanks for reading this post, I’m glad you did.

I’ll leave you with these last thoughts.

Seize this moment, live in this second, maximise this time. Every second is an opportunity: it’s never too late. Time is on your side. Every second counts.

Oh, and watch ‘The Bear’. You won’t regret it.

Big Love, Jon