YWCA Henna

I was at the YWCA last week doing henna for some lovely ladies.  It was really amazing seeing how something as simple as henna can bring so many people together.

Here’s a sample of the hands that I did.

A wonderful lady named Dianne also shared her cancer story with all of us while she had her head shaved and then henna’d.  She requested not to have any pictures of her posted online, so I am honoring that.  The amazing grace and dignity she told her story with was so riveting/touching.  She laughed and cracked jokes while she told us about how she went from being a professional working woman to becoming homeless and then finding out that she has stage three lung cancer.

I can honestly say I’m at a complete loss for words when trying to describe what I felt observing all of this.  It wasn’t a large event, it was an intimate gathering of a few ladies at the YWCA with whom she wished to speak openly about her challenges.  Dianne was inspiring to say the least. Her journey, and the way she spoke about it, really made me take a few moments to reflect and I realized how easily I sometimes let small things in life drag me down- yet here was a beautiful woman who has been through so much and she’s still smiling and not feeling sorry for herself. There’s a lot to be learnt from moments like these and I thank Dianne for sharing her struggles and stories so candidly, and wish her the best of luck with her treatments and recovery.