• Mission
  • CLN Editors
    • Ross Pittman
  • CLN Writers
    • Marcus T Anthony
    • Laurie Barraco
    • Cherie Roe Dirksen
    • Cynthia Sue Larson
    • Julia Parsell
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Recent Posts
  • Terms of Service
Conscious Life News
Glucoberry
  • Home
  • Conscious Living
    • Activism
    • Animals and Pets
    • Conscious Evolution
    • Conscious Parenting
    • Happiness & Humor
    • Inspirational
    • Manifestation / LOA
    • Meditation
    • Peace & Human Rights
    • Relationships & Sex
    • Thrive
  • Economy
    • Business
    • Education
    • Loans and Frugal Living
    • Investing and Insurance
  • Environ.
    • Climate Change
    • Eco-Friendly
    • Farming & Gardening
    • Environmental Hazards
    • Wildlife
    • Preparedness
  • Govt.
    • Agencies & Systems
    • Bankers & Wall St.
    • Censorship
    • Govt. Corruption
    • Internet Control
    • Military
    • Policies
    • Politics
    • Spying and Surveillance
    • Whistleblower
  • Health
    • Alternative Health Care
    • Big Pharma, CDC & FDA
    • Covid, Jabs & Other Health Hazards
    • Diet, Weight Loss, Obesity
    • Exercise and Fitness
    • Food, Drink & Nutrition
    • Healing & Natural Remedies
    • Herbs, Seeds & Spices
    • Human Energy Systems
    • Longevity & Life Extension
    • Mind-Body Connection
    • Pet and Animal Health
    • Prevention
    • Skin & Hair Care
  • Horoscopes
  • Media
    • Alternative Media
    • Books
    • Art and Music
    • Corporate Controlled Media
    • Films & TV
    • Internet
    • Social Media
  • Reality’s Edge
    • Afterlife & Past Lives
    • Ascension
    • Astrology & Numerology
    • Channeling & Readings
    • Dreams, ESP & Remote Viewing
    • Dying, NDE, & OBE
    • ETs, UFOs & Crop Circles
    • Mandela Effect
    • Mysteries
    • Predictions & Prophecies
    • Quantum Physics
    • Reality Shift
    • Spirituality and Religion
    • Angels & Spirits
  • Sci-Tech
    • Archaeology
    • Earth & Space
    • Futurism & Inspiring Inventions
    • Medical Advances & Procedures
    • Nature
    • Psychology-Psychiatry
    • Science
    • Technology
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Conscious Living
    • Activism
    • Animals and Pets
    • Conscious Evolution
    • Conscious Parenting
    • Happiness & Humor
    • Inspirational
    • Manifestation / LOA
    • Meditation
    • Peace & Human Rights
    • Relationships & Sex
    • Thrive
  • Economy
    • Business
    • Education
    • Loans and Frugal Living
    • Investing and Insurance
  • Environ.
    • Climate Change
    • Eco-Friendly
    • Farming & Gardening
    • Environmental Hazards
    • Wildlife
    • Preparedness
  • Govt.
    • Agencies & Systems
    • Bankers & Wall St.
    • Censorship
    • Govt. Corruption
    • Internet Control
    • Military
    • Policies
    • Politics
    • Spying and Surveillance
    • Whistleblower
  • Health
    • Alternative Health Care
    • Big Pharma, CDC & FDA
    • Covid, Jabs & Other Health Hazards
    • Diet, Weight Loss, Obesity
    • Exercise and Fitness
    • Food, Drink & Nutrition
    • Healing & Natural Remedies
    • Herbs, Seeds & Spices
    • Human Energy Systems
    • Longevity & Life Extension
    • Mind-Body Connection
    • Pet and Animal Health
    • Prevention
    • Skin & Hair Care
  • Horoscopes
  • Media
    • Alternative Media
    • Books
    • Art and Music
    • Corporate Controlled Media
    • Films & TV
    • Internet
    • Social Media
  • Reality’s Edge
    • Afterlife & Past Lives
    • Ascension
    • Astrology & Numerology
    • Channeling & Readings
    • Dreams, ESP & Remote Viewing
    • Dying, NDE, & OBE
    • ETs, UFOs & Crop Circles
    • Mandela Effect
    • Mysteries
    • Predictions & Prophecies
    • Quantum Physics
    • Reality Shift
    • Spirituality and Religion
    • Angels & Spirits
  • Sci-Tech
    • Archaeology
    • Earth & Space
    • Futurism & Inspiring Inventions
    • Medical Advances & Procedures
    • Nature
    • Psychology-Psychiatry
    • Science
    • Technology
No Result
View All Result
Conscious Life News
No Result
View All Result
Home Conscious Living Inspirational

Jumping in Puddles: One Man Shares How Cancer Re-Awakened His Childhood Dreams

Steve Demas reflects on how stage-4 cancer awakened his childhood dreams and how he considers it a precious gift.

ross@consciouslifenews.com' by Ross Pittman
September 28, 2023
in Conscious Living, Featured, Inspirational
1 0
12
Jumping in Puddles: One Man Shares How Cancer Re-Awakened His Childhood Dreams
0
SHARES
643
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Pinterest

CLN Editor Note: This article is my favorite article ever posted on CLN. It was originally written in March of 2016 after I met Steve Demas in a Sedona coffee shop. He shared with me his cancer diagnosis and how it prompted him to really enjoy life and do the things he always wanted to do. I suggested that he write about his experience, which he did and sent it to me the next day. This morning (7 1/2 years later), I was absolutely thrilled to receive an update from Steve via email. Here's what he said:

Ross, i am still here and have been thinking about writing again. My 9-year cancer anniversary and I personally want to make it to my 10 year. If you still would like an article I feel like I am going to write something from my heart. Not like the Last Lecture but something that rhymes but with more faith. I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last 9 years living with stage 4. “Jumping in Puddles” was also from the heart – from an NDE and kid's dream, which are important to me today as then. Again I am not a writer. The article you published was written at 5:00 a.m. after 3 cups of coffee on my iPhone and sent. I was hoping you were going to edit it and even fix it up. Anyway, the story of my Cubs World Series experience just made a Baseball fan book. Someone else’s book but has some art. They are sending me a signed copy. I still may live a long time. Stage 4 isn’t curable as of today but I am feeling the urge to write and to do it at 5:00 am with a cup of coffee, which may be the title.

“Jumping in Puddles” by Steve Demas

When I was a young boy I always enjoyed rainy days. Sure baseball was canceled and I couldn't ride my bike outside but I knew the next day there would be leftover puddles on the way to school. Jumping in puddles was one of our favorite small pastimes and making splashes while trying not to get soaked was a fun goal of mine.

I had the luxury of living so close to my grade school that my brothers and neighbors walked to Juliet Low Elementary. One of the games we designed was to get to the puddle first and with one step make the splash and try to soak the person to your right or left depending on which way you leaned. (I didn't say jumping in puddles was always a sweet gesture). We all knew the risks of puddle roulette but it was a game, an adventure before a day of arithmetic, science, and art.

I still am very fond of these memories as I reflect back. I even still stay in touch with the gang I grew up with even though I live out of state.

About a year ago, I woke up one day with some pains in my left leg and my left shoulder. As a typical male, I chalked it up as aging pains or even leftover sports injuries, which I am very proud of. After the pain continued for many days, I eventually had to seek some medical advice and my outlook turned very serious very fast. After an MRI, it was revealed to me that I had stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to my liver, kidneys, spine, shoulders and hip. The prognosis was bleak but they said “they will make me comfortable.”

Those words resonated with me and reminded me of Walt Disney. When Walt was asked what time Disney closed, he always responded “We are open until 10:00″ always turning the words into a positive. I just received those same “spin” words and my reality changed on the dime. My first words after I heard the bad news were, “I guess I am going to Disneyland.”

Well I realized pretty fast my days were numbered and I specifically asked my doctor not to reveal the predicted outlook. It seemed to me it was best not to know. The next few months were obviously challenging and the side effects from chemotherapy and radiation were just as brutal. Fast forward one year as I type this and I have survived the original prognosis and found my way into remission.

I don't write today to vent or seek accolades but to share the gift of cancer: the gift of making you wake up to life. Had my situation kept going south or not improved, I realized I was still going to enjoy each day no matter how many I had left. And Yes Disneyland is where I went as soon as I could walk.

I was lucky enough to study business at Indiana University and found some great stepping-stone jobs out of school. I then built my own business in investments and real estate and basically work for myself with the freedoms that come from not having a punch card.

But as I started to win my health back I woke up to the fact I am not sure what I should be doing with my allotted time extension I have been granted. I was so appreciative for my grace and for the outpouring of kindness that my wife and daughters witnessed that going back to the life that I had built didn't —  and doesn't — seem important.

One’s mind wonders when under heavy morphine and the thought of mortality is one that is hard to digest since I never really gave it much thought. But as I came out of this tailspin I realized I don't jump into puddles anymore… When did that stop? When did I take the simplest most enjoyable risk out of my world? When did I stop riding bikes for fun and turn it into exercise only or worse ride a stationary bike that goes nowhere? When did I stop collecting baseball cards? Basically when did I stop living my childhood dreams and write them off as I was growing up?

As I thought about this, I decided to redirect my energy toward some old-school passions. Not a bucket list, but true deep-down loves. Things that are unique only to one’s personal tastes and flavors. We all have them but somehow I learned a way to suppress them and cover them up with adult dreams when in reality our childhood dreams are the ones that are truly rich.

I have 48 years of life experiences to tap into and be rolled over into my 49th year. There is more than enough wisdom about what I enjoy and what I do not enjoy to make a masterpiece out of 2016. Nothing like an NDE, Near Death Experience, to jolt your world back in line with what's really important. All the amazing experiences are surfacing back to life and I really am starting to feel amazing despite having no cure.

Today I write from Sedona, Arizona where I took the family via train from Indiana to Flagstaff to see some beauty and then attend a spring training Chicago Cubs baseball game. I even bought some baseball cards just in case Anthony Rizzo and John Lester, both cancer survivors, are close enough for me to get an autograph.

Why this adventure? Because that is what a kid would do. From every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Cancer has woken up my Childhood dreams. It was a gift.

Now I just have to find some puddles.

About the Author

Steve Demas. Portfolio Manager for the Archer Funds in Indianapolis Indiana, partner in R&D, An industrial real estate developer. Graduate of Indiana University Kelley of School of Business. Lawrence North High School Softball coach. Married Father of two daughters, Ali and Katie. 2016 Theme: “Feel the Fear, and do it Anyway.”

Tags: cancer survivorchildhood dreamsinspirational storyjumping in puddles
Previous Post

Your Horoscope and Astrology Overview for Sep 25-Oct 01, 2023

Next Post

3 Reasons People Don’t Listen to Their Higher Self

ross@consciouslifenews.com'

Ross Pittman

Related Posts

WATCH Morgan Freeman Brilliantly SOLVE Racism in 54 Seconds
Conscious Living

WATCH Morgan Freeman Brilliantly SOLVE Racism in 54 Seconds

November 27, 2023
Life is a Gift | An Incredibly Beautiful Animated Message by Charles Eisenstein and Edie Art
Inspirational

Life is a Gift | An Incredibly Beautiful Animated Message by Charles Eisenstein and Edie Art

November 13, 2023
Do We All Share the Same Physical Reality? | Mind Bending Article + Video
Living in the Matrix / Virtual Reality

Do We All Share the Same Physical Reality? | Mind Bending Article + Video

November 13, 2023
Vedic Astrology Report for October 2023: Transformation and Spiritual Growth
Astrology & Numerology

Vedic Astrology Report for November 2023: Personal Transformation + Clarity and Commitment + Increased Drive and Willpower

October 31, 2023
Wake Up People! Choose Freedom Over Enslavement. MEP Christine Anderson’s Inspirational Call to Action
Activism

Wake Up People! Choose Freedom Over Enslavement. MEP Christine Anderson’s Inspirational Call to Action

October 26, 2023
MUST WATCH: A Grieving Israeli Mother Makes a Heartrending Plea for a Peaceful World
Peace & Human Rights

MUST WATCH: A Grieving Israeli Mother Makes a Heartrending Plea for a Peaceful World

October 19, 2023
Next Post
3 Reasons People Don’t Listen to Their Higher Self

3 Reasons People Don’t Listen to Their Higher Self

Comments 12

  1. amanda_britton@ymail.com' BrittonSkye ;) says:
    8 years ago

    I love this story!!!!!! Very encouraging and inspirational. We get so caught up in life that we forget to enjoy it. I think it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, bet I find me a rain puddle 😉

    Reply
  2. amanda_britton@ymail.com' BrittonSkye says:
    8 years ago

    I love this story!!!! Very encouraging and inspirational! I think so many of us get caught up in living life that we forget to enjoy it. It’s supposed to rain here tomorrow….gonna go find me some rain puddles 😉

    Reply
  3. 10207845125260791@facebook.com' Spyros Tsoronis says:
    8 years ago

    u have to read this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

    Reply
  4. amanda_britton@ymail.com' BrittonSkye says:
    8 years ago

    Love this! Very encouraging and inspirational story! And you are so right, we tend to get so busy that we forget to enjoy life! I think it’s supposed to rain here tomorrow, time to find me some rain puddles 😉

    Reply
  5. wleece@me.com' Bill Leece says:
    8 years ago

    Steve, I remember you from our days together at Rolling Meadows High School, a time when I read much of what you wrote. And now comes this: such a remarkable story of strength. And remembering you from high school, this strength comes as no surprise.

    I thank you for your bravery and honesty. I seem to recall saying those same words many years ago when you’d stand in front of the class and share those teenage and sometimes childhood dreams (angst too) with the rest of us.

    So here it is Sunday April 24, and this Friday I have a scheduled treatment (bladder and prostate cancer) at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. I’ll be thinking of your bravery, knowing what inspired you can inspire me as well.

    I’ll keep you in my prayers; keep me in yours too. Deal?

    Love ya,

    Reply
    • Sdemas1@thearcherfunds.com' Steve Demas says:
      8 years ago

      MR. Leece and pardon me for not calling you Bill. You taught me how to write and as I wrote this I remember you teaching me “detail, detail, detail” hence my effort. I was surprised they published my first draft without an edit. I will say a prayer for you for a swift recovery. “Walk in faith, not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7

      Reply
  6. houselmarie@gmail.com' Marie Housel says:
    6 years ago

    Thank you for writing this, Steve. So many of us are going through this illness but there are most certainly lessons that we have chosen to learn this way. I struggle all the time to not let myself get immersed in a dis-ease (which is one of my lessons), and you have made it easier with your reflections.

    Reply
    • Steve Demas says:
      5 years ago

      Marie, I just read your comments and I truly hope you were able to find remission. Prayers for you and your family.

      Reply
  7. Sdemas1@comcast.net' Steve Demas says:
    4 years ago

    Well I am still here. 2/9/20 will be 5 years. I might write up a follow up article call it “dirty boots” after the “Jumping in Puddles”

    Reply
    • admin@consciouslifenews.com' clnews says:
      4 years ago

      It is really awesome to hear from you Steve!!! If you do end up writing an article, please email me: ross@consciouslifenews.com. Have an amazing Thanksgiving!!!
      PS, I am currently sitting in the Wildflower restaurant where we met. How’s that for a synchronicity? Our meeting was a synchronicity.

      Reply
  8. lyndathies@comcast.net' Lynda says:
    4 years ago

    Steve- it was a pleasure meeting you today! There are no accidents! Your accelerated school aka cancer is wisdom that you should share! You have a gift…many gifts actually and you should share. Thank you for the time you spent with Dana and I. God is not finished with you yet!

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      4 years ago

      Lynda, it was nice meeting you. Thank you for the kind words. I am starting to write as I come up to my 5 year anniversary. It’s humbling for no other reason I know some people reading this have their own battles. Cancer doesn’t make you feel special. I say often “if you want to make God laugh, tell him what your plans are”..My second article, “Second Chances” is just a follow up of my cancer journey.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Conscious Life News

The mission of Conscious Life News is to be a global leader in the consciousness-raising of the planet.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Activism
  • Afterlife & Past Lives
  • Agencies & Systems
  • Alternative Health Care
  • Alternative Media
  • Angels & Spirits
  • Animals and Pets
  • Archaeology
  • Art and Music
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Ascension
  • Astrology & Numerology
  • Astrology Overview
  • Bankers & Wall St.
  • Big Pharma, CDC, EPA & FDA
  • Books
  • Business
  • Careers
  • Censorship
  • Channeling & Readings
  • Climate Change
  • Conscious Evolution
  • Conscious Living
  • Conscious Parenting
  • Corporate Controlled Media
  • Covid, Jabs & Other Health Hazards
  • Daily
  • Diet, Weight Loss, Obesity
  • Dreams, ESP & Remote Viewing
  • Dying, NDE, & OBE
  • Earth & Space
  • Eco-Friendly
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Environmental Hazards
  • ETs, UFOs & Crop Circles
  • Exercise and Fitness
  • Farming & Gardening
  • Featured
  • Federal Law
  • Films & TV
  • Food, Drink & Nutrition
  • Futurism & Inspiring Inventions
  • Government
  • Govt. Corruption
  • Happiness & Humor
  • Healing & Natural Remedies
  • Health
  • Herbs, Seeds & Spices
  • Home Maintenance, Repairs & Improvement
  • Horoscopes
  • Human Energy Systems
  • Inspirational
  • Internet
  • Internet Control
  • Investing and Insurance
  • Laws and Lawyers
  • Lifestyle and Fashion
  • Living in the Matrix / Virtual Reality
  • Loans and Frugal Living
  • Longevity & Life Extension
  • Mandela Effect
  • Manifestation / LOA
  • Media & Arts
  • Medical Advances & Procedures
  • Meditation
  • Military
  • Mind-Body Connection
  • Monthly
  • Mysteries
  • Nature
  • News Flash
  • Peace & Human Rights
  • Pet and Animal Health
  • Policies
  • Politics
  • Predictions & Prophecies
  • Preparedness
  • Prevention
  • Psychology-Psychiatry
  • Quantum Physics
  • Reality Shift
  • Reality's Edge
  • Relationships & Sex
  • Sci-Tech
  • Science
  • Skin & Hair Care
  • Social Media
  • Spirituality and Religion
  • Spying and Surveillance
  • Stuff
  • Technology
  • Thrive
  • Uncategorized
  • Weekly
  • Whistleblower
  • Wildlife
  • World

Recent News

December 2023 Monthly Astrology Deep-Dive FESTIVE FORECAST + ALL SIGNS – Please See BELOW THE VIDEO!

December 2023 Monthly Astrology Deep-Dive FESTIVE FORECAST + ALL SIGNS – Please See BELOW THE VIDEO!

November 28, 2023
Sagittarius New Moon – Amplified Emotions + All Signs

Sagittarius New Moon – Amplified Emotions + All Signs

November 28, 2023
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 ConsciousLifeNews.com - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 ConsciousLifeNews.com - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist