There was a young woman on So You Think You Can Dance tonight who had been in treatment for an eating disorder for two years. During that time, she was unable to dance. Her ability to dance the brokenness was breathtaking. She was able to make her arm look broken, dislocated from her body. Able to heal it back into place and be beautifully rhythmical. The audience was moved. Christina Applegate, on the judges’ panel as a guest, wept. She has had breast cancer.

Our beautiful Nancy Waldeck at Cancer Wellness, “Chef” Nancy, was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer several years ago. After finishing her treatment, she began teaching cooking classes there and helping others to heal. Her mission is to inspire cancer patients to learn how to eat healthy.

My friend Kathy’s daughter suffered from anorexia for a very long time. She is now a physician helping others back to health.

Now me, I have a broken heart from the loss of my daughter and husband to cancer. My brokenness made me into a spiritual writer. I understand sorrow from the inside out. It is not theoretical with me. Just as the eating disorders and cancer were not theoretical. What we learn through our brokenness is how to love life again. For each of us it is different.

I invite you to dance across the floor of my iMac with me every day. I want you to applaud when you like, laugh on occasion and let the tears roll down your cheeks when you feel me beside you. For sorrow must be healed and at the same time, joy must be undertaken one step at a time.

Small spoonfuls of broth, small essays from the broken places in the heart. We honor each other in different ways. Chef Nancy dresses like a million dollars because that is part of who she is. She has such a twinkle in her eyes, though, that you might miss the infinite variety of her cooking clogs.

I feel so good when I write. So blessed to have a bully pulpit from which I can say, “Let’s dance and eat and toast our good fortune for moving on through pain and sorrow to the ultimate healing….self-love.