Featured Rhino

A Rhino at Sunrise

bendichoso

Every morning, I wait in anticipation for the sun. At sunrise, I rise. On some days, like most people, I have a difficult time to rise or even wake up. The trials and struggles of my chemotherapy treatments and cancer tumors make it even more hard. However, I have a simple routine that I practice. It’s based on the “Crawl, Walk, Run” approach shared by a dear mentor of mine from The Office.

The routine goes like this. I crawl to the edge of my bed and lift myself up to a sitting position. I pause then I rise to a standing position. I walk to the bathroom and on chemotherapy weeks I head straight to the toilet and wait to get sick. After that ordeal, I walk to my bathroom mirror and try to smile. If I can’t smile, I walk back to the bedroom and sit in my red chair. Please note, I never crawl back in bed. I always sit back in my red chair and wait for the sun to rise. After sitting for anywhere from one to three hours, I rise again and get the strength to head back to my bathroom mirror and try to smile. Once I am smiling, I get into the shower, change into my suit, and run out my bedroom door to bring goodness to others that day.

I have to be truthful there are some days that I don’t make it out of my red chair. I just call in sick and stay home all day. Fortunately, there are more days that I run out my bedroom door than sit in my red chair all day. The sunrise is the sign of a new day that is a blessing for all of us. Each morning, I recognize someone did not wake up that day. When the sun rises, I rise to crawl, walk, and run through my bedroom door to meet the day. My morning routine was inspired by artwork I found that pictured a rhino at sunrise. I imagined that once the sun is up in the sky, the rhino looks up at the sunrise and charges to meet its day. Like a rhino at sunrise, I look up at the sunrise, smile for a new day, and keep moving like the charging rhino.

The Rhino at Sunrise

Every new day is a blessing, I am grateful for each morning that I can wake up and see the sunrise. Gentle reminder – tomorrow is only a promise. It is not guaranteed.

Ben Dichoso Jr.

“A Rhino at Sunrise”

BenDichoso.com

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