"Take All The Time You Need"

Dear Friends,

Greetings! I had my follow-up appointment to all of my tests last Monday and my body seems to be tolerating the new drug. I took it, in addition to the existing two drugs, for the first 21 days of the cycle and now have a week off before resuming it. It is apparent by the number of blood draws and ECG tests that one of the side effects that most concerns my treatment team and the study originators is its impact on the heart. So far I am doing well and the heart, lungs, eyes, and essential organs are all holding their own and functioning well. I also had a little shrinkage of my left chest wall tumor which is good. I go back next Monday for the next wave of tests and then again on the 22nd of February. I will keep you all posted. Thanks to Hannah Keim for taking me up to OHSU!

By the way...Happy Ground Hog Day! Since Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow we only have 4 more weeks of Winter. Yeah, Phil! The movie Ground Hog Day does a nice job of showing the tradition featuring Bill Murray as a man who lives the same day over and over again. Check it out. Had Phil been in Corvallis, Oregon this morning he would have seen his shadow but what we celebrate as Winter here pales in comparison and scope to much of the rest of the country. There will be a lot of Americans who are pleased if Phil is right! It is also Dennis Eaton's birthday today. We have been friends since we were 10 years old. We were on the same Little League baseball team, The Shoppers Lane Merchants, together, as well as at South Hills High School in Southern California.  Happy birthday brother!

I also want to recommend two books for you today. The first is called:

     A Year With Hafiz: Daily Contemplations
     Edited and Translated by Daniel Ladinsky

Hafiz is a legendary figure who lived in the fourteenth century. He was probably born about 1320 and died about 1389. His given name was Shams-ud-din Muhammed. He chose the pen name Hafiz which referred to someone who knows the Quran by heart. He was born in Shiraz in southern Persian. Like Lao Tzu, much myth and story surrounds this poet, philosopher, and Sufi Master. The book was a Christmas gift from Dr. Wendy Boring, a Professor friend from Willamette University, in Salem, Oregon. One poem a day creates a wealth of thoughts and refections for the reader. A couple of samples to excite your imagination:

One Regret

One regret, dear world, that I am determined not to have when I am lying on my deathbed is that I did not kiss you enough.

Every Holy Book

A candle giving advice to the sun can make the sun smile because of the flame's remarkable innocence. Maybe I should be careful about saying something like this, but every holy book...
lifts the corners of my mouth, and even makes me giggle a bit.

Listen To This Music

I am a hole in a flute that the Christ's breath moves through--listen to this music...We are a hole in a flute, a moment in space, that the Christ's body can move through and sway all forms--in an exquisite dance--as the wind in a forest.

The second book I am recommending is:

     The Tao of Christ: The Way of Love for a World of Hurt
     Written by Will Keim, Ph.D.

I wanted to remind you that the Special Limited Edition of this book is available at willkeim.com on the website store. We printed only 500 copies of this edition at $39.95 per copy. Each copy is signed by me and numbered for you. I will gladly personalize the books if they are for you or to be used as a gift for someone else. The price includes shipping and handling. Some teachings from Lao Tzu and from Jesus to pique your interest...

Teaching 10 The Tao

Giving birth and nourishing, 
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.

Matthew 7:12

In everything, do to others what you would want 
them to do to you. This is what is written in the
Law and in the Prophets.

Teaching 9 The Tao

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening our knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about other people's approval 
and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

Matthew 7:1-5 The Gospel

Do not judge others. Then you will not be judged
by God. First take the log out of your eye and then
you may see clearly enough to remove the speck of
wood from your friend's eye.

Teaching 66 The Tao

All streams flow to the sea
because it is lower than they are.
Humility gives it its power.
If you want to govern the people,
you must place yourself below them.
If you want to lead the people,
you must learn how to follow them.

The book reveals two great writings of wisdom and spirituality that appeared 6 centuries apart. Yet, the spirit and content are remarkably similar and aligned. Lao Tzu was born in the 6th century B.C. and was a Chinese philosopher and teacher. He heavily influenced Carl Jung. He is the founder of Taoism, and may have been a contemporary of Confucius. After a Teaching and a Gospel Lesson, I write a commentary that weaves them together for the reader. I know you will be moved by the great insights the Tao and the writings of Jesus reveal to you.

It is also no secret that with Doctor appointments very regularly that I must begin to shift my income trail from speaking to writings. I will speak as long as my health allows, but I am reaching out to all of you to request your assistance by buying copies of The Tao of Christ which will allow me to make good on the commitments I have made to my family. I thank you in advance.

The title of today's blog entry is, "Take All The Time You Need", and it came to me as I was reflecting (complaining) to myself, "Goodness, cancer takes a lot of time." Then it dawned on me...
when cancer ceases to take a lot time, I cease too! Therefore, I have resolved to take each appointment one at a time, each pill, each day, each battle, one at a time. It strikes me that this may be of value to those of you who are healthy as well. What are we rushing toward? What is the hurry? The play for each of us ends the same way. And while those of us who are people of faith hope and believe in life after death...this is the life that our Creator has put in our hands. The Afterlife is in the hands of the Creator. Jesus taught Christians to pray..."...your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." Not..."...your will be done after we die and join you." This is our life, our opportunity, our chance to love and be loved. To serve, and care, and cry, and rejoice. What the hell are we rushing for? So..."Take All The Time You Need." Be present. Be mindful. And be grateful. This understanding, taught to me by Jesus, and Lao Tzu, and underscored by Louis Zamperini, and Hafiz, reveals a central truth to human existence. Today, right now, this moment...it is all we have. Be in it.

And may your life's moments be lived one at a time with great intention and joy.

Yours,

Will Keim

 www.gofundme.com/j8f8m7hv