Word count: 1498 (not including Title, Subtitle, and Works Cited)
The Greater Vision, the Pursuit of Mission
From Cancer to Liberty Healing: Two Quests in One
By Hannah Rivard
Lung cancer. Leukemia. People dread those diseases, understanding their deadly power, but few know of the equally devastating influence of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the chest or abdomen lining, usually incurable, and often caused by inhalation of “asbestos,” a category of mineral fibers (Prucha 583; Roggli, Oury & Sporn 1). This cancer has the survival rate of less than one year after diagnosis, but not all patients quietly succumb to that fate (Robinson & Chahinian 71). One man, through discipline, faith, and research, survived over seven times longer than his original months-long prognosis (“James Rhio O’Connor” par. 1). One man has inspired cancer patients the world over. One man sought to change the impossible, and by doing so, has helped bring my own vision within reach.
James “Rhio” O’Connor spent years embarking upon a quest to triumph over the death that grasped at his life. In many ways, his struggle toward freedom parallels the journey that a troubled youth travels out of her pain, or does a horse in recovering from the devastation of abuse. My life’s vision is bring about this freedom through “liberty healing,” combining coercion-free liberty (equipment-less) training of horses with disadvantaged youth, one youth rehabilitating one horse; wings untied, they are both freed to fly. I do not have to guess how I would approach the challenge of cancer were I to have it; instead, I have already shown how I would respond through my pursuit of the challenge of liberty healing. In following this mission to promote life – whether hypothetically in cancer or in reality in liberty healing – I need to know my motivations, build discipline, make holistic decisions, find unique alternative methods, develop community and support, and empower others to be leaders.
Terminal cancer seeks to consume me, but I choose to be consumed by something far hotter: the fire in my soul to fight for my God-given life. Great missions require great motivation, and motivation starts with passionate beliefs, as Rhio exemplified. Were I to have cancer, I would fight for my life for the same reason I am fighting for others’ lives in liberty healing: there is more to life than existence, for allowing mere existence is like allowing death. I am driven to empower youth to fight for their own better life rather than succumbing to their cancer of the soul. Rhio’s beliefs were supported by his ideal, which, separate from conquering mesothelioma, was to be an informed patient, as mine is to be an advocate of alternative horsemanship healing. Leaning on an ideal which gives fulfillment independent of “success,” keeps me from discouragement when promoting liberty healing seems impossible, just as it would encourage me when cancer healing seemed to slip through my grasp.
I have been fighting this killer for years. It has slowed, but I do not, and that is why I survive. Not only did Rhio have the long-term discipline to fight mesothelioma for seven years, he had the daily self-discipline to take over one hundred supplements per day, change his diet, and write his book (O’Connor, “Supplements” par. 1). Similarly, my college life has not been a typical one; I may have missed some parties but have gained a vision. Everything in me has focused on liberty healing. I take heavy course-loads, am designing my own major, volunteer at ministries, pursue extracurriculars, develop my horse business, apprentice at equestrian academies, and work to earn money, all to propel me toward my vision. The self-discipline involved in pursuing this goal could be seamlessly transferred to pursuing freedom from cancer, for such dedication is a lifestyle commitment.
This cancer affects every part of my being, so I will similarly use my holistic being to determine how to destroy it in a way unique to me. To be victorious in a supreme challenge, the mind, body, emotions, and soul must combine forces. Rhio knew this and made holistic decisions, just as I have in determining my course toward liberty healing. My mind has provided a rational plan that includes academic, horsemanship, and life goals; this foresight is needed in such a great challenge, whether in liberty or cancer healing, when time and opportunities are limited. My emotions fill me with empathy for troubled youth, driving me to implement my mission despite setbacks, and my spirit provides me with the overarching vision of horse-human connectedness. Indeed, it is an inner vision which I am slow to second-guess, paralleling Rhio’s own confidence in the inner voice. Rhio encouraged “an inner faith in yourself” no matter what: although we both learned from others’ words, we took no one’s word for it (O’Connor 9).
Traditional doctors say that I will die, which means that traditional methods will let me die. I must find alternative methods if I wish to live. Rhio knew that discovering his remedy would be set apart, for “[e]veryone must find their own path to healing” (O’Connor, “Supplements” par. 3). Taking his advice, I have found my own path to a cure for youth through liberty healing. To properly formulate those alternative methods, I need, as Rhio did, to hold on to the good in tradition while maintaining the open-minded sensitivity to see the shape of its missing pieces. Rhio knew to be careful of filling those missing links, as am I: I am vigilant to be as critical of alternative methods as I am of traditional, for as Rhio said, “choosing an alternative approach is more complicated… because with the holistic modalities there is no ‘one size fits all’” (O’Connor 6). I embrace alternative methods with open arms while keeping them at arm’s length, being intentional in knowing the foundational theories and philosophies behind the horsemanship methods, just as I would be if I were researching alternatives for cancer. This holistic intentionality is critical for success.
I am one life striving against cancer – that is nothing. But thousands of lives together gathered against it – that has power. As I have pursued innovative liberty healing, I never assumed I could do it on my own, just as Rhio did not try to come up with mesothelioma treatments by himself. Instead, I have consulted books, scoured the internet, watched videos, enrolled in online schools, participated in forums, audited clinics, and sought out internationally-known trainers to further my knowledge. This is analogous to consulting doctors, natural healers, informative seminars, and medical journals if I had cancer. Further, Rhio’s mission was augmented by finding common threads of nutritional healing through researching other mesothelioma patients (O’Connor, “Case Studies” par. 1-10). I, too, have found common threads among horsemen relating to liberty training and healing – threads that have guided my method, just as my peers could guide my cancer-fighting process. These threads of community support are paths to victory.
The doctors cannot believe I have survived cancer for five years. I am not the same as I was: I am a leader now. A leader is someone who makes a request (Introduction to the Waterhole Rituals). Rhio empowered others to leadership by teaching them to make profound requests of themselves and others. I, too, have asked much of family, friends, and colleagues in asking them to support and believe in my hope of liberty healing. I have not stopped leading myself, however, even stepping away from those who would not allow me to direct my own course. If fighting cancer, I would need this self-confidence, for if I were not leading my body, I would be following it, ultimately, to death. I believe I may outlive a dismal cancer prognosis, for I have outlived the prognosis of my horsemanship, for it is likely thought that I am naïve and will not succeed. However, I have not failed yet. I am still fighting my cancer.
I have lived for years with cancer, yet they are not lost years but blessed, for I have inspired other youth to fight their terminal diseases. Through Rhio’s example, I have learned to fight my own cancer: the anguish that eats at me when I see the plight of so many youth and horses. My success may empower future leaders by stirring them to take liberty healing to other venues, such as impoverished countries. Along with leading others, I am inspiring them, from world-renowned trainers who are surprised by my dedication to horsemanship, to the equally-important peer at my school who is encouraged by my pursuit of this calling. Yet my mission is also self-cultivated, for ultimately I have found my motivations, nurtured discipline, made holistic decisions, discovered unique alternative methods, developed community, and empowered leaders in my quest. Ultimately, I am practicing how I would respond if I had cancer in me by fighting the cancer revealed to me: fear and devastation in horse and youth. Rhio and I are perhaps not so different, for we are both seeking life as much as we are combating death. Indeed, challenging death is merely fighting a singular end, but pursuing life is a much greater vision indeed.
Works Cited
Introduction to the Waterhole Rituals. Dir. Carolyn Resnick. 2008. DVD. Stormy May Productions, 2008.
“James Rhio O’Connor.” Surviving Mesothelioma. Cancer Monthly LLC, 2009. Web. 12. Jan 2010.
O’Connor, James. “Case Studies” & “Supplements.” They Said Months, I Chose Years: A Mesothelioma Survivor's Story. Raleigh, NC: Cancer Monthly, Inc., 2008. Pg. 6, 9. Mesothelioma Alliance & Amazon. Web. 10 Jan. 2010.
Prucha, Edward J., ed. Cancer Sourcebook. 3rd ed. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 2003. Print.
Robinson, Bruce & Chahinian, A. Philippe. Mesothelioma. London: Martin Dunitz Ltd., 2002. Pg. 71. Books.google.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2010.
Victor L. Roggli, Tim D. Oury, Thomas A. Sporn. Pathology of Asbestos-Associated Diseases. 2nd ed. New York: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 2004. Pg. 1. Books.google.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2010.
