tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post7704482882974421821..comments2023-11-03T05:09:33.978-04:00Comments on Fragments of Grace: The Battle We Didn't Choose: Breast Cancer Photography ExhibitUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-60819433568384690902012-08-18T11:37:04.048-04:002012-08-18T11:37:04.048-04:00What an eloquent way of expressing an inexplicable...What an eloquent way of expressing an inexplicable feeling. I think you should consider putting that last paragraph into your book, Robin. Sending hugs to you.Gbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08895779471612397202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-16600774652528695202012-08-18T08:01:26.054-04:002012-08-18T08:01:26.054-04:00Yes, I am probably too harsh. I have definitely l...Yes, I am probably too harsh. I have definitely lost the capacity for empathy in some respects - maybe I never had it to begin with. Marissa is much better and more generous than I at seeing what others try to offer. <br /><br />For me, that sudden news: it's as if the earth was jolted off its axis and everything began to slide off. As I lay in bed this morning and read your comments, I looked out the window at a beautiful sunny morning and thought: how odd it is that the trees and houses all appear to be bolted to the ground, because I know that, in truth, nothing is.<br /><br />Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898073277524952683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-15481225272532177922012-08-18T02:19:18.328-04:002012-08-18T02:19:18.328-04:00I just read this post, AFTER writing "I can&#...I just read this post, AFTER writing "I can't imagine" in my comment on the post above. I said it because I'm aware that, though both of us are mothers of children who have died, I can't know your particular experience as I do my own. For example, I do not know what it's like to have the news delivered suddenly (apart from the shock of diagnosis); I don't know what it's like to have an older child - an adult child - die. So I guess it is a term of respect for the uniqueness of your experience, for your own personal response, for your family unit - for all the things that are uniquely yours. I do not think that I don't want to understand, but I take your point that this may be true for some.Gbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08895779471612397202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-33948964221255527402012-08-16T21:58:21.429-04:002012-08-16T21:58:21.429-04:00Strange - even though I went to see it and typed t...Strange - even though I went to see it and typed the title myself, the word "battle" didn't even register. The exhibit is much more the story of a journey, to my way of seeing it.Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898073277524952683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-76606396717288731852012-08-16T18:08:56.266-04:002012-08-16T18:08:56.266-04:00It was a powerful and poignant. I wish I lived ne...It was a powerful and poignant. I wish I lived near by so I could see it first hand. Elaine (aka...Purple) https://www.blogger.com/profile/09439199680556347830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-87908316888503486462012-08-16T12:01:41.616-04:002012-08-16T12:01:41.616-04:00Absolutely. We tend to define "victory"...Absolutely. We tend to define "victory" as "cure" when speaking about any disease. We don't think about other character-molding results of dealing with chronic or life-threatening illness, which are "victories" themselves...maybe even THE victory.Lisa :-]https://www.blogger.com/profile/02237889098638895390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-72359543571330785952012-08-16T10:58:24.127-04:002012-08-16T10:58:24.127-04:00Well, as you probably know, I hate the battle meta...Well, as you probably know, I hate the battle metaphor and the use of words such as "victory" or "defeat" with respect to cancer. If I were inclined to use them, I suppose that I would always do so in terms of the victories of courage, insight, compassion, strength; little things like that.<br /><br />Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898073277524952683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-57410107562553802052012-08-16T10:53:28.928-04:002012-08-16T10:53:28.928-04:00I always thought that telling someone, "I kno...I always thought that telling someone, "I know how you feel" or "I understand your what you're going through" was insulting, if one indeed had never been through what the other person is experiencing. This is the genesis of my "I can't imagine..." when I speak to or about someone else's pain. It has never been an attempt to protect myself from anything, as far as I know.<br /><br />I can sort of understand cancer patients who have been conditioned to "fight" and not consider the possibility of a less-than-victorious outcome objecting to a graphic pictorial history of a battle lost. I blame this more on the medical culture surrounding cancer treatment than on the individual patients... Lisa :-]https://www.blogger.com/profile/02237889098638895390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-64211687457461805542012-08-16T10:44:43.924-04:002012-08-16T10:44:43.924-04:00So true about the space.So true about the space.Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898073277524952683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-90951303313796134742012-08-16T10:44:21.502-04:002012-08-16T10:44:21.502-04:00This comment came through on my email but didn'...This comment came through on my email but didn't post. I thought it was so completely true that I would rectify Blogger's miss. From Susan:<br /><br />Those images are truly beautiful. I was expecting much worse, truthfully. Maybe only after you have walked through cancer with someone you love can you think that, but I see his love for her so clearly. I see who she is. Cancer is not the star of these photos. Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898073277524952683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3907440527168314545.post-74773511033164799222012-08-16T09:22:46.873-04:002012-08-16T09:22:46.873-04:00What a beautiful and most appropriate space for ex...What a beautiful and most appropriate space for exhibiting art for art is a sacred language of the soul. Thank you also for your comments as I learn so much from your honest reflections.Lyndahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06336536082191736636noreply@blogger.com