Learning to Live Today: A Different Relationship with Time

Dr. Huda Al Ali is a pharmacist, artist and cancer survivor for whom art is much more than a creative activity. It is a way to express feelings, explore experiences and communicate what can sometimes be difficult to put into words. Through her artwork, she shares her perspective on life and creates opportunities for others to connect, reflect and express themselves.

In this personal reflection, Huda shares another important change cancer has brought into her life: a different relationship with time. Once someone who carefully planned every minute of her day, she now approaches life with less pressure and more space to appreciate the present.

We are grateful to Huda for sharing this personal side of her journey with us.

Here is her story, in her own words...

In the past, every minute of my life was filled with planning for the future. I would think about the coming month, the coming year, and even five or ten years ahead - endless, continuous plans. No day would pass without me setting multiple tasks for myself and forcing myself to complete them on the same day, believing in the saying: “Don’t postpone today’s work until tomorrow.”

Even time itself was something sacred to me. I used to constantly watch the clock, as if every minute had to be used. I remember that at the beginning of my illness, in the first days in the hospital, the first thing I asked for was to have a clock placed in front of me - because time was an essential part of my sense of control and structure.

But now, everything is completely different.

Today, I live only my day - this day and nothing more. I no longer think about achievements or projects in the same way, and finishing everything on my to-do list is no longer urgent. If I don’t complete my work today, it’s okay. What matters most to me is not to put pressure on myself, my body, or my health… they deserve care and priority.

I no longer look at the clock as I used to, and it no longer matters whether it is morning or evening. The day is simply something I live as it comes, with everything it brings. I live its moments with the people I meet, and the events that happen, and I deal with everything in its time - whether it is difficult, bitter, or beautiful and joyful.

I face my day as it is, without carrying it into tomorrow.

Today… is all I have, and it is what I choose to fully live.

Dr. Huda Al Ali

Our heartfelt thanks to our contributor for sharing her story so openly and allowing us to publish her reflection.

At Cancer Care UAE, we believe that every person's experience deserves to be heard, and that support begins with understanding the individual beyond the diagnosis.