Being Sustained - A Sustainable Life

The definition of sustainable is: 

sus·tain·a·ble

  [suh-stey-nuh-buhl] 

adjective

1.

capable of being supported or upheld, as by having its weight borne from below.

2.

pertaining to a system that maintains its own viability byusing techniques that allow for continual reuse: sustainable agriculture. Aquaculture is a sustainable alternative to overfishing.

3.

able to be maintained or kept going, as an action or process:a sustainable negotiation between the two countries.

4.

able to be confirmed or upheld: a sustainable  decision.

5.

able to be supported as with the basic necessities orsufficient funds: a sustainable life.

I think back on the last five years of my life and what has made my life sustainable.  The first definition of sustainable "capable of being supported or upheld, as having it's weight borne from below" is not something that you think of too much when contemplating the buzzword "sustainable".   But I have been held up over the past five years by family and friends in ways too numerous to count.   First, as I went through cancer myself, not only the radiation treatments and chemotherapy but the aftermath, the complications, the mountains of bills, the inability to work regularly, the healing of body.  Just as I was getting my life back together, starting a new business and making a good name for myself, my son Peter was diagnosed with leukemia.   I spent the better part of a year with him - in the hospital, in the clinics, and eventually, in my living room after they told him there was nothing more they could do for him.  That was in December of 2009.  I was exhausted - spiritually, emotionally, financially.  But my sons, my family and friends and the universe were there for me and held me up.  Then, just a month after my son Peter died, my dad (who never smoked one single day of his life - one of the healthiest people I have known) was diagnosed with lung cancer.   He died this past December.  


I know - there are many people out there that have had much more heartbreaking stories than I - but that is not my point.   I have been sustained.  I have survived - my soul, though hurting, was soothed by the kind words, the hugs, the shared meals, and the empathy and sympathy of those that I am lucky to call friends.  


So, when we think about living a sustainable life, realize - you have to nurture your relationships, your friendships, your neighborhood, and sometimes even a stranger.  Sharing a meal, sharing a ride, sharing a shoulder, sharing a dollar with someone less fortunate - these small acts are part of a sustainable life - especially the life of the person you are sustaining.