Blissful takes her first hike on a trail after surgery for breast cancer and decides she prefers to be described as a "thriver" – or even "aliver" – rather than survivor.  It's a hot, humid summer day at Lebanon Hills, a region carved by glaciers with kettles and eskers, plus the singing of numerous birds. Blissful's surgeon tells her it's time to put on a backpack and get back on trail, even though she's isn't completely healed. Illness humbles us and teaches us about our vulnerability and ultimate decline, and yet it opens us up to discover our superpowers, like moving forward to see what's next. It's the price we pay for being alive, but it offers us a chance to appreciate what we have even more. MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.  Support the show