A heroic woman rode through town last week. Not on a Harley or a horse, but the really hard way...on a bicycle. She was cycling from California to Florida to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. The amazing thing is that she did this to celebrate her 50th birthday and her 20th anniversary of wellness after surviving a disease that kills most women within five years of their diagnosis. She is a profound example of what sets some women apart: defeat is a foreign language she does not speak.
Her name is Laurey Masterton and, not only is she an athlete and spokesperson for women's health, she's a successful proprietor/chef of Laurey’s Catering and Gourmet to Go in Asheville, NC and published author of Elsie's Biscuits: Simple Stories of Me, My Mother and Food.
Laurey took a leave from her business to take on the coast-to-coast ride for her designated charity, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance.
On meeting her, I explained how incomprehensible her journey seemed to me. How could she voluntarily put herself through such a thing?
"Doesn't every woman going through treatment face incredible challenges?" she asked.
I responded that what we do isn't courageous. "We do what we have to do. You have a choice; you don't have to do this."
"Oh, yes I do," she insisted. "I had to do it . . . for women like me who know something's wrong but can't get a straight answer. For women who don't know about the disease, or a woman who might save her life because she hears my story . . . I had to do it."
And where does her courage come from?
On her second day she blogged that she wasn't sure she could reach the end. Suddenly, it seemed like an impossible goal. Then a friend told her, "It's a matter of making small circles with you feet, that's all. Just make small circles, one after another after another and then, you'll be there."
I hope that Laurey's ride encourages you to make your own circles and that if you're facing a gigantic mountain, you get to glide down the other side.