Whole in All Direction | Part3: Illness, Spirituality, and the Art of Letting Go

The Diagnosis

In late 2018, Mimi noticed a dent in her left breast after a trip to Seattle. Six months earlier, an ultrasound had shown nothing, but this time, her doctor’s tone changed: “This is definitely cancer.” 

Waiting for surgery was the hardest part. “I had to wait a month because two doctors were needed for the procedure,” she said. “So I just meditated. Accepting that illness and death is also part of the package.”

Her family doctor helped connect her to specialists – a breast surgeon, plastic surgeon, and oncologist – all leaders in their fields. “I was really lucky,” she said.

Returning to Spirit

What began as routine duty in childhood – temple visits, prayers, offerings – became her path to survival. “Buddhism helped me let go of fear, ego, everything I couldn’t control. The only thing I could control was my mind.” She learned to appreciate the presence and take better care of people she loves because tomorrow is never guaranteed. 

Spiritually and Buddhism gives her and family comfort in a sense that we are a small part of a bigger picture. 

Her father, normally logical and not very spiritual, revealed later that he had visited a temple in Chiang Mai during her illness to make a wish for her recovery. “When my sister and her friend who’s a medium went back there years later, the friend asked if someone from our family had made a visit with a wish that came true,” Mimi said. “My dad just froze and said, ‘It was me.’ We felt like a higher power was looking over us.”

Living Between Worlds

After treatment, Mimi kept a simple practice: gratitude,  awareness, and cultivating positive  energy. “When you smile at someone, they smile back,” she said. “That little thing changes the whole interaction.”

She also became clearer about ego and self-respect. “In my 20s I used to react to everything,” she said. “Now I try to see the difference between ego and self-respect.” She described it as daily practice rather than a linear journey. “Some days you get it, some days you don’t. You just keep trying.”

Thai-Chinese values of filial duty and Western values of individual expression both guide her today. “Thai culture teaches you to respect and take care of your parents,” she said. “In the West you treat everyone equally. Having both helps you see the world better.”

For Mimi, that balance is the result of everything she’s lived through – migration, work, family, and uncertainty. Each part adds a layer to how she understands herself and others.

Mimi’s story is one of motion and adaptation – between countries, between generations, between growth and healing. She shows that balance isn’t something you chase – it’s built slowly, by staying grounded in where you come from and open to where life takes you.