There can be no lasting peace until we have dealt with all past karma, "good" or "bad." We are the inheritors of our past actions, and this life presents us with a wonderful opportunity to meet their effects with a bow of acceptance. Leukemia has left me a gift for which I am immensely grateful: the resolve to examine my own thoughts, words, and deeds carefully and to try to live each day in harmony with all sentient beings.
— Jim Bedard, Lotus in the Fire