The Language of Kindness

by Christie Watson

took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am. Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

I can only remind myself, as I get older and see more and more cancer around me, to live well and happily, to value that which makes us who we are: not material possessions, but love, kindness, hope.

Nursing is – or should be – an indiscriminate act of caring, compassion and empathy. It should be a reminder of our capacity to love one another. If the way we treat our most vulnerable is a measure of our society, then the act of nursing itself is a measure of our humanity. Yet it is the most undervalued of all the professions. Anyone who works with cancer, however, understands and values nursing, perhaps knowing that it is not the cure – which so often is not possible – that matters in the end.