“One’s heart cannot help but sing”

I felt the need to express my joy at my daughter Carly’s recovery from cancer. When she would go in for treatment, she would wear the most colorful outfits she owned. She banished black from her wardrobe. She felt that color, music and dance helped her heal as well as the traditional medicine she was receiving. She maintained her good spirits through it all believing in the importance of a positive attitude. I painted her smiling with her arms outstretched showing the emotion that I too felt. She is in her ‘signature’ outfit, complete with the shell belt with the one missing shell. During her treatments, when we could, we would go to High Park and we saw it through the different seasons – twice in the fall, winter and spring. I hope my painting makes you smile and think of the wonders of life, of love, of health, of hope and of the restorative qualities of the changing seasons. The following poem was written by my daughter in response to my painting:
Yes!
I say Yes to Life, to the Moment, to Miracles.
Yes to Laughter, Love, Healing, and Hope.
I say Yes when asked to Dance, when offered Help,
when I wonder if I have the Strength to overcome great Challenges.

Yes to the Darker Emotions, to my own Mortality, and to the Mystery of it All.

Yes, Yes, Yes!

I say Yes to the Changes, to the Lessons, and to the Many Gifts.
Yes to the Journey, to the Wise Beauty of this Earth, and to my own
Wild Spirit.

I say to Yes to Courageous Vulnerability, to the Connectedness of all things,
and to the Colours of the Rainbow.

Yes to Passion and Compassion.
I say Yes to all the seasons this life can bring,
because I CAN, so that my Heart Can Sing!

Yes!
© Poem by Carly Stasko