Surround Yourself With What 'Sparks Joy' And Yes, You Can Cry too

Connect yourself to items that can help you through your cancer journey.

BY Barbara Tako

PUBLISHED March 13, 2019

Barbara Tako is a breast cancer survivor (2010), melanoma survivor (2014) and author of Cancer Survivorship Coping Tools–We'll Get You Through This. She is a cancer coping advocate, speaker and published writer for television, radio and other venues across the country. She lives, survives, and thrives in Minnesota with her husband, children and dog. See more at www.cancersurvivorshipcopingtools.com, or www.clutterclearingchoices.com.

Marie Kondo, a decluttering guru, suggests that clients pick up each item they own and "keep what sparks joy." She is the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. As a fellow clutter-clearing (and now cancer) speaker-author, I agree. I think it is important for cancer patients and survivors to surround themselves with items that are supportive. Though it is the current rage to weed out and think minimalist thoughts, it is also important to surround yourself with the people and the things in life that support you through cancer.

Right now, I sit at my desk surrounded by a bit of, ah hem ah… clutter. This includes a little sign stating, "The Cabin Is My Happy Place," a small pottery dish from Florida with a few seashells I picked up on the beach there this winter, a carving of my name made by my father-in-law, one candle and two plants—one in a pot given to me by my eldest. If you knew me from my clutter-clearing book and talks, you might find this "clutter" a bit surprising.

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