A Grandfather's Tale: Prostate Cancer and P's Laws of Life

By Kenneth L. Pierce

I am confident you will be enticed and entertained . . . it will speak to your heart and head. I invite you to share it with those you loveDr. John Demartini. About one man in six is diagnosed with prostate cancer, but only one in thirty-four will die of it. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer for men. Jack knows and yet his grandchild, Hunter will be the one to help him put it in perspective. A Grandfathers Tale is for those who seek to understand the why me and why now of any disease! A Grandfathers Tale will show you how to make sense of the diseases we all inevitably face. For those who want to understand how to deal with illness, For those who want to make sense of who they are, what they do, and what they have achieved; And for those who want to uncover the love in their life . . . A Grandfathers Tale is for you. Youll laugh, youll cry . . . You will be magically transformed by this special relationship!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450090643

Kenneth L. Pierce

Ken Pierce, a psychologist and business consultant, has over 30 years in psychology, education and organizational development. An international speaker and author, Ken is a Certified Facilitator with the Demartini Institute of Houston, a Senior Faculty of the William Glasser Institute of Los Angles and a Retired Faculty Member of Holland College and the University of Prince Edward Island. He has three daughters and three grandchildren and lives in Eastern Canada with his spouse, Anna.

Book preview

Copyright © 2010 by Kenneth L. Pierce.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010906071

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4500-9063-6

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4500-9062-9

ISBN: Ebook 978-1-4500-9064-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

73847

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter 1    The Red Arctic Jelly Fish — Everything Is About Evolution!

Chapter 2    The Lost Mouse — Everything Has A Purpose, Especially You!

Chapter 3    The Scared Lab — Everyone’s Journey Is To Self-Appreciation!

Chapter 4    In Sickness & In Health — Everyone’s Job Is To Dissolve Their Illusions!

Chapter 5    A Summer Storm — Everyone’s Great Discovery Is The Symmetry Of Their Life

Chapter 6    The Sick Seagull — Everyone’s Delight Is Uncovering Their Innate Balance!

Chapter 7    Cautious The Cat — Everyone’s Goal Is Honoring Their Perfection!

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my siblings, my four brothers and four sisters, who have served me so well for so long in so many ways:

Norman F. Pierce

Raymond J. Pierce

Glendon E. Pierce

Mary A. Pierce (Sisk)

David J. Pierce

Joanne M. Pierce

Rosemary C. Pierce (Toner)

Jacqueline L. Pierce

FOREWORD

As we mature into our golden years, we may wonder what of lasting value will we pass on to the next generations. There are so many concrete possessions and abstract ideas which will last beyond any of us. But, what will really sustain the next generations? What will be actually useful in spite of the technical and societal advances that will occur? These are the questions each of us are inwardly driven to figure out.

These are also the questions this book addresses. It is these questions that some of us will get to deliberate on at some crisis point in our life. And this poignant pause is captured carefully, with beauty and humor, in the often unnoticed relationship between an aging, sickly senior and their grandchild. In this story Jack’s prostate cancer is the catalyst for him to pause and spend some time with his 8 year old grandchild Hunter.        

Using only an illness, a family, a beach and a small village, this story uncovers and demonstrates the essence of what everyone seeks in their life: gratitude, certainty and love. And it goes even further to explain why this is so. These profound ideas blossom naturally out of the charming relationship between Jack and Hunter, two people seeking truth from opposite ends of their time line.

Ken Pierce is a skilled psychologist and business consultant whom I have known for many years. He was one of the earliest psychologists in the world to achieve certification with the Demartini Institute. I have watched him apply the laws of nature to his earlier writings in education on school yard bullying, The Dance of Bullying; in business management, Using Lead Management on Purpose and in his popular seminars on parenting, leadership and marriage. Now he has turned his attention to an often overlooked segment of society, our seniors and our sickly.

I applaud Ken’s initiative in taking on this topic since in my experience the very question of personal purpose and values is on the minds of people of all ages. Ken has been able in this short work to capture many of the most important ideas from my work but also of other leading thinkers past and present.

What you hold in your hands is an inspired and insightful story full of wit, charm and gentle, clear truths. I am confident you will be both entertained and enticed to seek out the truths of your own life and that it will speak to your heart and your head equally. This is a book I invite you to share with those you love. It is a book you will read again and again because of how it inspires you to appreciate yourself, your life and those around you.

Dr. John F. Demartini -

Human behavioral specialist, bestselling author, consultant and founder of the Demartini Institute  

"Each Year brings new problems of Form and Content,

New foes to tug with:

At Twenty I tired to vex my elders,

Past Sixty it is the young whom I hope to bother."

W. H. Auden

PREFACE

Research indicates children born today can expect to live in good health to be at least 150 years of age. My generation, the notorious baby boomers, are good for 90 to 100 years and interestingly, our financial advisors now tell us to plan accordingly. And we will probably spend most of our children’s anticipated inheritance demonstrating this to be true.

So what are we really going to leave the next generations which will be of any value? Since it is likely they will be living even longer than us, they will have plenty of time to ponder our contributions.

John Demartini says death is the lever arm of life! Without death there is no new life. Jacques Cousteau, the famous underwater explorer, said we only value life because we know we are going to die.

So having survived at least seven brushes with death so far that I can identify; including various diseases; near fatal auto accidents and other adventures; and not counting the, unknown to me, medicated airline pilots, taxi drivers, mental patients and health care professionals; I decided to explore, as I started drawing my Canada Pension Benefits, what were my most valuable learning(s) to date.

I have often remarked as an educator of 30 years, I learned more from preschool children than from any adult. So it seemed logical to me a child would be the catalyst for my exploration of life.

So, this is what I have gleaned that is priceless to me. When I consider them honestly and carefully, in those magic moments with yourself, perhaps driving alone or catching a sunrise, these learnings are really the sum total of my life and me.

INTRODUCTION

While in exile, the Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky said in his diary, Old age is the most unexpected of all things to happen to a man. So, it was with curious interest I read recently it has been estimated trillions of dollars of material wealth in various forms will be transferred over the next few years from the Baby Boomer generation to their children and grandchildren.

Material wealth being very concrete, as compared to the more abstract nature of my wealth, I wondered what I had to transfer to my children, grandchild, nieces, nephews, etc. I have spent over sixty years trying to understand the natural universe in which we live. In that journey I have had the privilege of studying the work of many wise people of the past and present. I took this knowledge and endeavored to use it daily. In so doing I have amassed a pile of books and experiences and I think perhaps a few kernels of truth of our world. They may be worth sharing or not! The reader will decide.

Who then is interested in the truth? I don’t share the opinion of Jack Nicholson’s character in A Few Good Men when he shouted, You can’t handle the truth! My experience has shown me we all seek the truth but usually settle for some temporary and illusionary sense of security instead. But I do find openness and a kindred spirit in at least two demographics, the very young and the very old. Perhaps this is due to their proximity to the start and the end of things which enables them to focus on the maple sugar rather than all the maple sap.

And so it is to these I have focused this story remembering the