Warriors Talk Podcast

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And empower you into action. This is Warriors Talk with
your host, Lady Rachelle.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Did you know that research says that practicing gratitude can
improve your mental health, reduce stress, increase resilience, and even
strengthen your immune system. For survivor's gratitude isn't just an emotion.
It's off than the bridge between faith and fear. When

(01:04):
we choose gratitude, we choose healing, good Evening, Warriors, This
is Lady Rachelle, Welcome to another episode of Warriors Talk
where we move away from awareness towards action. Tonight is
a personal show. It is powerful and it's purposeful. Our
topic is an attitude of gratitude the survivor's perspective. As

(01:30):
a survivor, I know firsthand that gratitude hits differently when
you have walked through the fire. And this is our
Thanksgiving week, and I know that each of us have
so much to be grateful for. So go ahead and
grab your journals, your waters, your teas and join in

(01:51):
on this life saving conversation. On the last episode of
Warriors Talk, doctor Michelle Meeks and I discuss the great
Amica can Smoke Out. You can head over to YouTube
type in Intellectual Radio is stay connected for any episodes
you may have missed. The quote of the day is
gratitude doesn't erase the scars, but it gives them meaning.

(02:16):
If you are tuned in on any form of social
media like the show, share the show and invite someone
else in on the show that you feel may benefit
from this valuable information. We're so grateful for our sponsor.
On today, we have Pastor Michael Richardson with the Emmanual
Church of God in Christ who has a special message

(02:37):
for us.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Greetings, I am Pastor Michael Richardson and I am.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
First Lady and a Station Richardson from the Emmanual Church
of God in Christ. We're located at thirty fifty eighth
West Van Buren in Chicago, Illinois. We are building upon
a solid foundation.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
And we're inviting you to join us every sign Inday
morning on Facebook live at Emmanuel Kojik at ten fifteen
Central Standard time, and you can also view our videos
on our YouTube channel at Emmanuel kojak Dash. Mr. Once again,
this is Pastor Michael Richardson and.

Speaker 4 (03:17):
First Lady Anna Station Richardson, and we are from the
Church of the Rice.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
We are building upon a solid foundation an attitude of
gratitude the survivor's perspective. Let's start off with what exactly
gratitude is. Is defined as the quality of being thankful,
readiness to show appreciation, and to return kindness. And we're

(03:50):
talking about it from a survivor's perspective. What gratitude means.
After you have lived through a cancer diagnosis for some
sur virus, we often say cancer has changed us, but
gratitude has shaped our lives. It's about learning to recognize
the blessings within your journey, and gratitude helps you become

(04:16):
more intentional about life. Going through a cancer journey, you
learn to appreciate every single day and you look at
it as a gift. And the small things that you
would normally take for granted, all of a sudden they
start they start to matter. So, whether it's a cancer
diagnosis or any type of life altering diagnosis, when you

(04:40):
come out on the other side, you have so much
to be thankful for. Because so many people that go
through a cancer diagnosis, some of them get the stage
four when the cancer has metastasized to different parts of
your body to where they're not able to offer you

(05:01):
what they will say a cure or you have to
be on medicine for the rest of your life. And
with a cancer diagnosis that's a stage four they often say,
according to statistics, that you have three years to live
off of that diagnosis. But we know people. I know
a lot of survivors that have received that stage four

(05:23):
diagnosis and they have been here more than twenty years.
So does it have something to do with gratitude, being
grateful and how that can turn around your diagnosis and
help your healing. Well, let's talk about that tonight. What
does gratitude means to you? When you have been through

(05:47):
a life alterant perspective, a life alterant diagnosis, and when
it comes to your perspective, it shifts your perspective. Some
people will say, why me, you know, why is God
allowing this to have to me? Why do I have
to go through this? Oh, I'm a good person. I
haven't done anything wrong. Or some people begin to think

(06:07):
about in their life things that they have done wrong
and they like, oh, okay, I understand this is probably
why this is happening. I understand why this is happening
to me. And then you think about it and you say,
I think after you accept the diagnosis and you have
processed the diagnosis, then you begin to look at it

(06:27):
from a different perspective and say, well, why not mean?
Why not mean? God chose me to go through this?
Because I always say God allowed it. He allowed it
to happen. He knew what was going to happen. He
already know what you're in it's going to be with
this diagnosis. So because he allowed it, there's a reason

(06:48):
for it. So instead of just going through the why
me and you more than? You're more than you have
a right to go through the white mestage, But don't
stay there too long. You know, ask God, you know,
how can this diagnosis serve you purpose? What can you know?
How can I glorify you? And this diagnosis and your

(07:11):
attitude with change you learn to be more grateful. I
think about when I was diagnosed at forty three, my
girls hadn't graduated from My oldest daughter she graduated from
college with her her bachelors and her master's after my diagnosis.
She got married after my diagnosis, my eighteen year old

(07:33):
I saw her go on prime and graduate from high school.
After my diagnosis, my son married with three children. I
have three grandkids, and all of these things happened after
my diagnosis, and it just made me more grateful about
life and the things that happen in life, and not
to take them for granted, but just to try to

(07:56):
enjoy life and be present in the moment, because sometimes
we could get so busy doing things for other people.
We're working. We spend more time at work than we
do anywhere else, and we're doing things for other people
all the time, and a lot of times we don't
sit and we don't enjoy life. You think about the
amount of vacation time that we have when we go

(08:17):
on vacation. A lot of people get like two weeks
and you may spend one week somewhere at home, the
other week you may go away somewhere. But when you
think about it, that's not a lot of time to
sit back and enjoy life and you know, just taking
everything that life has to offer. So a lot of
times we're doing a lot of busy work and not

(08:39):
really sitting back thinking about how grateful we should be
for everything that God has given us. I think about
just being on the opposite side of cancer and even
going through my cancer diagnosis. Some people have financial issues
when they go through a cancer diagnosis and they're not

(08:59):
able to work, they're not able to pay their bills,
and you know, they have to go to different organizations
to try to you know, apply for scholarships to get money,
and sometimes you know, they are forced to just whatever
strength that they have to get out there and try
to work or try to get on some type of
assistance to help them. I was really blessed in the

(09:22):
area to where I was still able to work. I
didn't miss any money when it came to my paycheck,
and I often talk about my coworkers and how they
donated their stick time to me so that when I
had to take off every Friday for chemo, that I
was able to get paid my regular pay and not

(09:44):
miss any money. So for that, I am so grateful
that my girls, we didn't miss any meals, I didn't
have any electricity or anything being turned off in my household,
you know, financially, you know, really preserved me in that area,
and for that, I'm really grateful, because that's not the

(10:06):
same story for every cancer survivor that's going through their diagnosis.
Sometimes they go through just as bad financially then they
do doing that physical and when you're going through financially,
sometimes you can't even concentrate on healing because you're like, Oh,
I got to go to the doctor and pay this koffee.
Oh I got to take this money and pay you know,

(10:28):
for these medicines, these you know, and sometimes you can't
even concentrate, you can't even eat healthy because you don't
have the money to do it. But gratitude teaches us
to be no matter what is happening in your life
or happening around you, that you can find something to
be grateful for. And so it helps to shift your

(10:50):
perspective from that fear mentality to the faith mentality and
to be grateful for just even the little things. Grateful
for what the cancer means, what does it mean? Think
about what does this cancer mean and how you can
use it, how you can use the cancer to your benefit,

(11:14):
being grateful going through treatment. So many people may not
have money to go through treatment. Some people may not
even have insurance. Some people don't even have insurance to
get mammograms. And then now you've been diagnosing, they tell you, oh,
you have to go through treatment. You're like, Okay, who's
going to pay for that? I don't have money to

(11:34):
pay for it. And then sometimes when you don't have
insurance and you have to go through these secondary insurance
and who I hate to say it, but you may
not get the best care because you may not be
going to the best clinics who have the best machines
to be able to diagnose you properly. You may be
stuck at some clinic that's getting hand me down machinery

(11:58):
that you have to use in order to fight your cancer.
So just being grateful to be able to go through
the cancer treatment and come out on the other side
and still be here and still be able to function
and still be able to dress yourself, feed yourself, you know,
get up in the morning, walk around again, That's not

(12:21):
the case for everybody. So finding little things in your
life that you could be grateful for, and how gratitude
can show up. It can show up differently in your life.
Before your cancer diagnosis, you probably didn't even look at things,
little things as being grateful, Like I look at little

(12:43):
things like going to my daughter's basketball games and being
able to just you know, sit there and cheer her
on and have the strength I can remember having them
in tumbling when I was going through my cancer diagnosis,
and I didn't even have the strength to sit there,
Like I was so fatigued that I didn't even have

(13:05):
the strength to be able to just sit and support
them through that. And you know, they kind of understood.
But then again, we talk about it to this day
and they like, MA, you know what if you had
left us in tumbling, Like how great we could have been,
But they didn't understand. I didn't even have the strength.
And at the time I was a single parent, I

(13:27):
didn't even have the strength to do that, and they
were little, and I had to make the best decision
for me in order for me to get through my
cancer diagnosis. So your perspective definitely it shifts onto things
that are more important. So I felt like my healing

(13:47):
was more important, and preserving my energy was more important.
And this is where a lot of times your support
system can kick in and be able to say, hey,
you know, I noticed your girls are tumbling, because a
lot of times we may not ask for help. You know,
if you're not able to get them there, you know
I got you. I'll take them. I know you don't
have the strength to do it. I'll make sure they

(14:08):
get there and get back, you know, so that why
they're there, you can be resting, you know, and that's
where that and that's why it's important sometimes to have
a two parent household because the other parent can do
all the other stuff that you're you're not able to do,
and just being able to appreciate the moment that you're in,

(14:33):
like finding ways to practice being having gratitude on a
daily basis. A lot of times we're not present because
we have so much going on in our life, so
much busyness, that we're not even in the moment with people.
You're on your cell phone, they're talking to you, you're texting,

(14:55):
you're watching a video. You're not even really present in
the moment. So try to take time to be present
with people when they're talking to you and telling you
how they feel. If you ask them, you know, how
you feeling today, you know, really look at them and
look in their eye and really listen at how they're feeling,

(15:18):
don't dismiss them. A lot of times we dismiss people,
oh okay, you all right, all right, I'm good, and
you go about your business. And a lot of times
we just give a cliche answer and be like, oh girl,
I'm good. What's the answer we give at church, I'm blessing,
highly favored. But then you go home and you crying
and your pillow because you don't feel good and because
you don't want to ask for help, because you don't

(15:41):
want to seem like you're helpless. You don't want people
to treat you like you're helpless, but you need the help.
So just appreciate people and be present in the moment
when you see people, especially if they're dealing with something,
because a lot of times you don't know. So many
people are committing Susie, and we like, why why these

(16:03):
people committing suicide? Because a lot of times people have
internal battles that they're going through and they're too ashamed
to say something to somebody else. And a lot of
times we may see size we may not, but the
business of our lives don't allow us to be present
a lot of times when people when we're with people,

(16:24):
just going out to dinner and putting your phone away
and not being on your phone, but being present in
the moment with people. Thanksgiving is getting ready to come around.
We all are going to be having Thanksgiving dinner and
just being present in the moment to be there with
your family and be grateful that you're there with them,

(16:46):
because next year, everybody may not be around that table,
and so you have to make sure that you take
time just to appreciate people. Appreciate them in the moment
while they're there, and don't forget to celebrate your small wins.
If you're going through a life altering diagnosis, celebrate yourself,

(17:09):
celebrate the small wins. If you are doing going through
cancer and you dear radiation radiation, a lot of people
have like thirty three rounds or radiation or thirty rounds
or radiation, celebrate each time you go to radiation. I
don't know, Go get some ice cream or something, whatever
it is that you like, Hey, my Leah. Yeah, being present,

(17:29):
it's a really great tip. A lot of times we're
we're not present with people. We dismiss people feelings a
lot before they can even finish telling you how they feel.
You don't already dismiss them, Okay, girl, al right, talk
to you later, Like, don't do that, like really take
the time to, you know, look people in their eyes

(17:50):
and see how they're doing. Finding purpose in your pain.
A lot of times we complain. Sometimes I find so complaining,
you know, and I'm like, oh, you know, if I
didn't have a cancer diagnosis, I probably would be here.
Like I think about because a lot of times we

(18:11):
grieve the life that we had before the cancer diagnosis.
We do. We grieve that life and we look at
it as while I was doing this, and I could
have been doing that, like I was on my way.
I think about me even being I was in school
to get my PhD. That was nineteen credits. N I

(18:31):
get my cancer diagnosis. This stopped me dating my tracks.
I said, oh, you know what, I can't concentrate on school.
I need to concentrate on my health. My health is
more important. And then I grieved the fact that that
was in twenty eleven. You could have had your PhD
right now. You could have had it had you stayed
the course. But I made the decision that at the

(18:54):
time my health was more important. I couldn't concentrate on that,
like I couldn't give it my all, and it wasn't
fair to my kids. It wasn't fair to me, like
I had to really choose. But I'm grateful that I did,
because who knows, I may not even have gotten through

(19:15):
the program because I was so focused on my health
and there were times when I didn't have the energy
to do anything, and so when I was able to
do something, I celebrated my wins. I told you, every
Friday I went out because dancing was my thing. So

(19:35):
every Friday I went out because every Friday I had chemo,
and every Friday night I went out and I danced.
I danced the night and that was my way of
celebrating myself that I got through that chemo treatment. And
a lot of times when I was done with that chemo,
my legs were swollen, like it was chemo give you

(19:58):
this heaviness, and that's what a fatigue come from. You
have like this heaviness on your body that you cannot
sleep off. And so a lot of times, like my
body would just be heavy from the chemo. But guess what,
I still went out and I celebrated my small wins, like, yeah, girl,

(20:18):
you got through that chemo today, you made it. Or
you got through radiation. You know you made it, and
you have to celebrate yourself. And a lot of times
after chemo, we went to eat. Whoever was with me
at my chemo appointments, we went to eat or we
was at the mall. We did something, So don't forget

(20:39):
to celebrate yourself however you want to do it. It
doesn't have to be something really big. And I mentioned
finding finding purpose in your pain. Don't just and it
may sound harder than it can be, but find purpose

(21:00):
in your pain. Ask God, why are you going? Why
are you going through this pain? Why did he choose
you to go through it? And what is it that
he expects to get from it through you? Because there's
a purpose for it. You're not just going through it

(21:22):
just to be going through it. It's just a reason
and you have to you have to search out that reason.
And believe me, he will let you know. He will
let you know through other people. Well, he'll let you
know directly. And a lot of times I try to,
like I always say oh, because I don't like to
talk about cancer all the time. It can be depressing.

(21:45):
So that's why sometimes I do Relationship my days on
the show, because you know, sometimes cancer, to talk about
it all the time, it can be depressing. So I
try to do other things. But a lot of times
I say, oh, you know, I'm not gonna do this anymore.
I'm tired of doing it and I try to leave
it alone, and then guess what happens. God to send

(22:08):
somebody who's going through cancer, or somebody will come and say, hey,
somebody just got diagnosed. Can you talk to them? And
I just be like, Okay, God, I hear you, I
see you. I get it. And you know, He'll send
people my way so that you know, I'll be able
to mentor to them, like somebody mentor to me when

(22:29):
I was going through my cancer journey. People, you need that.
I searched out individuals to talk to when I was
going through my journey. So there are people out there.
Your purpose may be to do that to mentor to
individuals on a one on one basis who may be
going through whether it's cancer, it could be a stroke,

(22:49):
it could be a heart attack, it could be m
as you know, it could be loopist. It doesn't necessarily
have to be a cancer diagnosis. But there are warriors
out there going through different life altering diagnosis and they
need encouragement and they need hope, and they need to
see what it looks like for somebody to be on
that has been through what they're going through or what

(23:11):
they're getting ready to go through, and they're on the
opposite side of it. They need to see that they do.
They need to see you operating in gratitude, being grateful
to be here, grateful to be on the other side
of cancer, and being able to share your diagnosis with

(23:35):
someone like you. Don't have to do it on a
podcast level, but you can do it individually with people
they need it. Another way we can practice gratitude is
to love people out loud. Right, Love people out loud,

(23:55):
love them while they're here, Tell them that you love them,
Show them that you love them. A lot of times
we just take for granted and we just assume people know.
They know how we feel, they know that we love them.
Some people need to hear it, some people need to
see it. Some people need for you to show it.

(24:19):
So love them out loud. Just like you want someone
to love you and express love to you, do the
same thing. Love people, according to I should say, love
people according to their love language. If you know what
their love language is, love them according to their love language.
And if you don't know what it is, then that's
a conversation you can sit and have with them and

(24:41):
ask them, what is your love language? How do you
How can I show up for you that would make
you know that I love you and do that. A
lot of times. It's not about us, it's about serving
other people. So while you're going through your healing, find

(25:03):
out how you can serve others in the process of
your healing. And a lot of times it will take
your mind off of what you're going through, and it
will let you see just how blessed you are and
how grateful you should be, because I guarantee you that
somebody always worse off than you. So start with serving people.

(25:25):
You know, this is the Thanksgiving holiday and a lot
of people are volunteering going down helping feeding people. You
can make a meals at home and pack them up
and go hand them out to the people that's out
on the street. You know, it's like little simple things.
You can make little toiletry bags and pass those out

(25:48):
to individuals. Buy some hat and scarfs and gloves and
pass those out, or blankets and pass those out to
the individuals that are on the street that you know
don't have anywhere to go or anybody to love them
out loud. Do that. It's so many ways that we

(26:09):
can express gratitude for not just us, but for other
people too. So think about what it is that you
can do today to show gratitude. Think about some things

(26:29):
that you are grateful for today, Like what are you
grateful for on today? I'm grateful that that I'm here.
I was diagnosed in twenty thirteen, in November, right, so
this is my twelfth year, you guys, So I'm grateful
for that on today. I hate when November comes around.

(26:52):
I should say I dislike when November comes around because
it reminds me of when I found my lump. But
then I'm grateful that I found a lump because had
I not found it, it could have went a different way.
So I'm grateful for that on today that I get
to be here for my family. I get to celebrate

(27:14):
with my family and just enjoy life and live out loud.
And I think about often, think about how my life
has changed after the storm. And let me tell you
and my kids. My kids can attest to this. I

(27:34):
was I was. Thank you, my Leah, she says, I'm
grateful for you. I love you too, thank you. I'm
just thinking about my life before my cancer diagnosis, and
my Leah can attest to this because I was busy
doing things that had nothing to do with nothing, just

(27:57):
out and about hanging partying with my I don't know,
I was I was a part of this motorcycle club,
the social clubs, see the scene that I was a
part of that whole scene, and my life was just
dedicated to that. Just that, like everything, that's what I did.

(28:18):
Like when it came to that, if they called I hopped,
like I was just dedicated to that and everything else
seemed like it came second. But you know, God is
a jealous God, and he said that should have no
other God before me. So okay, this is who she's serving.
And so you know, sometimes God has to get our

(28:39):
attention and say no, you know, I need your attention
to be here and not there. And believe me, when
I got my cancer diagnosis, I stopped that scene cold turkey.
I was like, you guys, I need to step away.
I just got diagnosed with cancer and I need to

(29:00):
train on my healing. And I was out. I was out,
and they was like, oh, you know, well you could,
you know, just take a leave of absence and you
can come back. And I was like I'm done, Like
I'm out. This is I need to concentrate on my healing,
and I cannot do both. I don't want to do both.

(29:23):
Like God was trying to get my attention, and okay,
he got it, and I can't give attention to both,
so I had to let one go. I couldn't serve
two masters, so one master had to go and I
had to focus on the other one. So my life

(29:43):
after the storm has been much calmer. I'm more present
from my kids, and I've been able to find my
purpose and walk in my purpose. And when I think
about all of the things that I've done, I've gained
a sisterhood with survivors. Many of you know. I've been

(30:06):
able to travel. I've been to Washington on many occasions.
I'm getting ready to go back to Washington in January
and then again in April. And I'm you know, with
my and my advocacy. I've been to San Antonio, Texas
learning about how to improve my advocacy. I had an

(30:30):
all expense paid trip to New York receiving an award
because of my advocacy. I've written five books because of
my cancer diagnosis. I have a radio show and podcasts
because of the diagnosis. And I'm able to through my
organization help individuals financially and celebrate them all because of

(30:53):
my diagnosis and the purpose that was found because of it.
I look at that and for all of that, I'm
grateful for it. I never would have thought that any
of that would have came out of it when when
I was first diagnosed, because the only thing I thought
about was I'm about to die. Never would I have

(31:15):
even peeped down the road to see that this is
what I was I would be doing. But I would
say that God gave me a vision one day and
he showed me myself standing in front of women, talking, teaching, speaking,

(31:36):
whatever it was I was. I saw myself and I
saw the crowd, and so I was like, oh wow, okay,
and you know, he just gave me a glimpse and
he was telling me, hold on, hold on, do it.
I got you, like, you know, this is this is
why you're going through what you're going through, and I
just need you to just to hold on. So and

(31:57):
it took everything in me to hold on, and I'm
glad I did, because you know, I'm here to witness,
you know, the milestones in my kid's life and to
make the milestones of my own, and to help other
individuals who may be going through the storm, to let
them know that, you know, if God did it for me,

(32:20):
then guess what he can also he can also do
it for you. And so for that I'm grateful. So,
if you're tune in right now, this is Warriors Talk.
I'm live on Intellectual Radio and talking about an attitude
of gratitude the survivor's perspective. And I was just talking

(32:41):
about a reflection of my cancer journey and how I
got through the storm and as a result of the storm,
some of the things that came out of my storm,
and how I found purpose in the storm as a
result of it. So let's talk about some ways that

(33:02):
you can show gratitude, and some of them I probably
already went over. Say thank you with intentions if there
was somebody that helped you through your cancer journey, that
did anything for you, any type of journey that you
went through, make sure that you look that person in
the eye, you tell them thank you. You let them

(33:23):
know how much that you appreciate them. A simple think
you can go a long way with someone. You don't
even have to you know, buy them anything, just acknowledging
them you know, you know, thank you. I appreciate you.
You can write a note of gratitude. A handwritten note
is always better than you know, just like a card

(33:43):
or whatever. I mean. You can send it through a
text message too, just something just acknowledging that you know
you see them. And a lot of times you can
express your gratitude publicly, like when individuals give a donation
for warriors talk. I like to publicly say thank you
to them so that people know that they gave you know,

(34:07):
and I want them to know that I am appreciative
that they gave. So just a simple shout out on
social media, honoring them and letting them know that you
appreciate them, like, it goes a long way, and you
can give back to someone else who may be in
need right gratitude. A lot of time, it multiplies when

(34:31):
you bless others. Again, it takes your mind offered what
you're going through, and it allows you to see what
someone else is going through through their lens. And then
you begin to think like, ooh, well, I have none
to complain about, Like I shouldn't even be complaining because
you know what this person is going through. It's way worse.

(34:53):
And sometimes you can keep a journal of the things
that you're grateful for. Start by writing down three things
daily about what you're grateful for, and it helps train
your mind to be in that state of gratitude. Do
it faithfully, Do it when you first wake up, after
you pray or whatever. Then write down three things that

(35:14):
you're grateful for, or do it when you go to sleep,
when you get ready to go to sleep, write down
three things that you're grateful for. And I'm sure every
day you can think of at least three things that
you're grateful for. Spend quality time with loved ones. I
talked about being present. Being present sometimes is the greatest present. Yes,

(35:39):
it is. People Sometimes loved ones just want to see
you that even if it's the quality of time not
the quantity. Sometimes we you know, it's the quality time
that you spend with people. Let them know that you care,
you love them. You know. It could be simple things
and sometimes you can surprise someone with like a small gift,

(36:02):
something that it may be their favorite cup of coffee, right,
it doesn't have to be really big and expensive and extravagant.
It could be something really simple, their favorite candy bar.
Just something that you know, hey, I appreciate you. I
thought about you today. Here you go, simple as that
I talked about volunteering. Volunteering to serve. Use your survival

(36:24):
as fuel for others, and serve others. Don't just sit
at home. If you have the energy to do something,
then get out and serve. Serve. It'll make you feel
so much better. Pray over someone. A lot of times
people would be like, pray for me. You be like, girl,
I'm praying for you, and you go home. You lead

(36:46):
when you lead a sight you don't, you don't pray,
and a prayer can be the most heartfelt expression when
it comes to gratitude. Sometimes just say okay, girl, let
me let me pray right now. Let me let me
just say a minute a prayer really quick with you
right now, Like, you know, take the time to pray
for someone, because guess what somebody did it for you.

(37:10):
And at number ten is pay it forward. Do something
for someone else that someone else did for you when
you were going through you know how you go through
the drive or at Starbucks and then the person ahead
of you already pay for your order, and then you say, oh,
I'm gonna pay for the person behind me too, Like
pay it forward to someone. Whatever someone did for you,

(37:33):
whether they brought you groceries or picked you up and
took you to your treatment, or maybe they you know,
pick the kids up for you, pay for your uber rides,
whatever it is like, pay it forward to someone else.
To let them know that you appreciate them. And celebrate

(37:56):
people while they're here. Tell them what they mean to you.
Now I told you to tell them that you know
you love them. Let them know how you feel. Don't
just assume that they know because they don't, you know,
let people know. Celebrate them while they're here. Number twelve
is give genuine compliments to people. A kind word can

(38:19):
shift someone's whole spirit. You never know what quiet battles
somebody is fighting when they're by themselves. So just, you know,
just a kind word. Number thirteen is practice patience and
kindness and how you treat people. You know, sometimes people

(38:44):
could be nasty to you, but you don't have to
be nasty to them. You know, you can still say, oh,
thank you, Okay, I appreciate it, excuse me, you know,
just be kind to people. And I've learned this and
I've been a probation officer for twenty three years, and
you know, I try to treat people like human beings,
because you know, sometimes people just made a mistake. Like

(39:09):
everybody ain't a criminal. Sometimes people just you know, make
a bad decision and they trying to get back on track,
you know. So sometimes you know, treat people how you
want to be treated. Be kind. And number fourteen says
be I talked about this already, Be fully present in
the moment, put your phone down, Embrace the time that

(39:31):
you have together, Cherish that time that you have together.
Time is our currency. And as we can see, we're
already at the end of November. Time is just going
so fast. And then number fifteen, which is our final one,
is take care of yourself. Show gratitude to God. That
includes honoring your body with the life that He preserved.

(39:55):
If you're still here and he preserved you through something,
because we're truth be told, we're all fighting some type
of battle. We've all we all are survivors of something.
So show gratitude and letting God know that you appreciate
him preserving you with your body. That you get one temple,

(40:18):
you get one, and if He has preserved you to
be here with your life, then let him know how
grateful you are. And that's by putting the right things
in your bodies, taking care of your body, being kind
to your body, getting enough sleep, eating the right foods,
exercising even you know, positive talk to yourself because a

(40:44):
lot of times we can be negative to ourselves. There's
power in life in the tongue, so say good things
to yourself as well. So I want you to think
about over this holiday period, how think about one thing
that you could be grateful for in this season of
your life, Like right now, in this season of your life,

(41:06):
what are what is like one thing that you could
be grateful for, And then think about how surviving has
changed your attitude towards gratitude, how surviving has changed your
attitude towards gratitude. And then think about who has helped

(41:27):
you through your journey that you would like to honor
and reach out to them today. Do it today. Just
send them, shoot them a text or shoot them a call,
and be like, girl, I really appreciate you because when
I was going through like you were there for me.
And you know, just let them know I appreciate you.

(41:49):
I appreciate my Leah because she was really there for
me when I was going through my cancer journey. Helping
me with the girls, cooking and just making sure they
got ready for school, helping them like a lot of
things that I couldn't do, didn't have the energy to do,
And so I appreciate her for doing that. And think

(42:11):
about how even during the tough times that you go through,
how you can still practice gratitude going through because remember,
gratitude is we think about happiness, we think about gratitude,
and happiness is really predicated on what's happening around you.
But gratitude is you being grateful in spite of what's

(42:35):
happening that you can still find things to be grateful for.
So think about those things over the holiday period while
you're enjoying your food, your turkey, you're dressing, and while
you're spending time with your family and are you guys.
I want to highlight my closing sponsor on today, which

(42:59):
is Gloria Dotson with Mary Kay and she's catering to
all of your beauty needs from here to toe. You
can go to Marykay dot com slash got so in
and please let her know that Warriors Talk sent you.
You can also be a guest on Warriors Talk. Just
email me at Warriors Talk one at gmail dot com

(43:21):
and let me know that you would like to share
your empowering story. Don't forget to pick up my journal,
Take Charge of Cancer. It's a guided journal for healing,
faith and empowerment. If you know someone that's going through
a cancer journey, then you know this would be the
perfect journal for them. While they're sitting there getting their treatment.

(43:44):
They can take time to journal about their thoughts and
it has different prompts to help you think about, you know,
even how to be grateful going through a cancer journey.
Don't forget to pick up the book anthology when Warriors
Talk Faith Emerges, Letting Go and letting God transform our
journeys for amazing authors talking about their cancer journey and

(44:09):
how they was able to surrender to God and their
faith was able to emerge because of it. All right,
you guys, I will leave you with these words of wisdom.
An attitude of gratitude transforms pain and to purpose. Don't
forget to join me next Monday at six pm right

(44:31):
here on Intellectual Radio. As always, thank you for tuning
in to Warriors Talk with author and founder Lady Rochelle,
where we are changing lives, one warrior at a time.

Speaker 1 (44:42):
Thank you for listening to this week's edition of Warriors
Talk with Lady Rochelle. To find out more about Warriors Talk,
follow at Warriors Talk to the Number one on all
social media outlets and Warriors Talk with Lady Rochelle on YouTube.
Please join us next week and every Monday evening at

(45:03):
six pm Central Standard Time on Intellectual Radio dot com
for Warriors Talk with Lady Rochelle, where we encourage, educate,
and empower you into action.