By Julia Chiappetta
Sentinel Columnist
I write this in remembrance of my good friend John Setten.
With much talk about Valentine’s Day and Love this week, I thought it only fitting to cite that while the love we share with a significant other, friend, or family member is surely a gift, I feel that the focus should include loving ourselves and especially our bodies! The body provides energy, strength, abilities, brain power, temperature control, agility, cell power and a beating heart, which by itself is a miracle.
I recently lost one of my best friends—John—to an awful disease that took him to heaven much too early. He was an elite athlete with a brilliant mind who taught me how to box and run faster and so much more. We spent hours sharing our love for athletics, the cellular structure, alkalinity, healthy eating, the importance of detoxing, ketogenic diets, autoimmune responses, our respective research on improving wellness and living healthy.
It was very difficult for me to watch his body break down, but through it all he (we), had hope that he would regain his health and that he would be running again one day at Tod’s Point. That day never came, but in my mind, my vision of him is in full stride with music to his ears, coming around the bend passing “the rock” with his taut body, movie-star good looks, six-pack abs and boyish smile waving me on to join him.
Having spent two years visiting him mostly bedside, gave me a deep appreciation for being able to just walk into his room, hold his hand and sing to him. He will forever be a hero to me, someone who challenged me to be better and someone who loved me with all my flaws. He would always say “your eyes have that light today” and that my light touched his life. That is the light of God, who last week brought John back to me in a dream where he was parachuting from a helicopter down to his condo complex in Old Greenwich. I was there waiting and watching him get closer and closer to the ground, where he took my hand and led me up to the third floor or his apartment where there was a skylight. Pointing to the heavens and vast sky, he said, “Look and see how beautiful it is.” Then he looked me in the eye and said, “I am doing great—I am fine.” In that moment, I had never seen him look so beautiful, and an overwhelming peace then filled my heart.
So as we contemplate what love is, I thought I would quote from one of my favorite Bible passages, Chapter 13 in First Corinthians.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres….
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
So let’s all remember to love deeply, be good to our bodies today, and seize moments to love and encourage others and eat something green and nutritious!
One final thought. John made a great organic pizza using coconut oil in the crust that was so unique and simply delicious. It was the best I’ve eaten, and I’m Italian. I wish I had asked him how to make it. Perhaps he will come back to me in another dream with that recipe!
Greenwich has lost a great wellness advocate, friend and athlete! Thank you for all that you gave to me… Love and miss you, John!
Julia Chiappetta is the author of “Breast Cancer: The Notebook” (Gemini Media, 2006) and is also the owner of Julia Chiappetta Consulting. She lives in Cos Cob.
