Lucas's Blog

“Look, if I were you, I’d be strongly advising surgery”

“Sooner rather than later,” he said

His voice sliding into the room like a slow knife through butter

It carried that quiet, ironclad weight

Part doctor, part surgeon

The unspoken authority of someone smarter than you

“you’re gonna listen, kid, whether you like it or not.”

A tone that landed calm and eerie

The kind you feel in your bones even while your head is still spinning

Instantly becoming hot and clammy

I shot a glance at Dad

Cocked my eyebrow in that timeless

“well, shit, there it is” signal we’ve all got coded into us

Then turned to the window

There was no grand vista waiting

Just a lazy smear of blue sky and clouds

A nothing-view that somehow became the perfect shelf for my brain to sit and stew

The plans I had for more international ventures

Thrown into uncertainty

The diagnosis

Testicle removal.

Not the title I’ll pitch for my biography

Nor the chapter I’d read aloud to a crowd

But one I was finding out would be written in the coming weeks

Whether I liked it or not

I could hear the doctor’s pen scratching out my updated itinerary

A to-do list I didn’t sign up for

Instead of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong

It was blood tests, surgeries, recovery

Far less touristy areas

A few words to the secretary, and I had headed off for blood tests

My body is a refined machine at producing these strange foreign lumps

When I was sixteen

I had a benign tumor cut out of my neck just below my ear

Surgery went perfectly, not one trace was left

Eight years went by

and like an old school friend

The same lump I’d sent packing all those years ago

Reappeared in the exact spot and the exact size eight

Almost comical

Out of my many talents on this earth

Besides building Lego, identifying Flags and capital cities

This one I wish I wasn’t the holder of

Luckily for me

The body is an industrious and creative entrepreneur

Built for curveballs like this

One steps up when the other’s down

The surviving soldier picks up the slack (And sack).

No fuss, no eulogy needed

Things keep moving

Which is what this whole thing’s about

How you turn a detour into a story

Find the good in the rubble

To stop and give some context here

The story above is a true recount from about a week ago

To set the scene

When I was galivanting my way across South America last year

Minding my own business in my hostel bed

I defaulted to the male relax pose of hand in pants (for warmth) and other hand behind head

After a few seconds

I realised there was an unexpected visitor in the two-man rental I’d been the landlord of since my birth day

It sent a hot flush over my body

Most guys can understand

Anything other than the two fruit and veg down there is cause for some kind of concern

I kept a relatively close eye on it for the remainder of the trip

But didn’t think it would ever truly get grounds to turn myself into a Latin American medical facility

I went about the rest of my trip

This was a problem I’d get resolved at home

That day finally arrived

After a multi-day, 5 flight marathon to get back to Melbourne I was back home

And after much internal debate

Mainly about whether I should go see my family doctor of over 25 years

Which meant pants around the ankles, and the rubber glove inspecting

I decided it was the best course of action

He quickly agreed there was something worth further inspecting in there

So I was whisked away to get a testicle ultrasound (as classy as it sounds)

I already have the highest respect for those in the healthcare industry

They are an industry that saves lives day in and day out

But there is a special place in heaven for the front line workers

Those dealing with the public’s problems every day, no matter how gruesome

The poor gentleman operating the Ultrasound machine that day is one of these heroes

I’m sure he was hoping to have a routine day

Showing expectant mothers their new little miracle with the ultrasound machine

Not the unfortunate reality of having to Ultrasound a young man’s lower quarters

Alas, to break the ice of having my bollocks moved over like a warm, wet lawn mower

I jokingly insisted he must’ve had better days at work than this

He looked at me, smiled, then once again told me to relax and didn’t take his eyes off the screen again

A very humanising experience, those ones

One that makes me remember we are all just flesh, bones, hopes and dreams

All going through a similar existence, working it all out every day

The results came in and I booked myself into a local specialist

Flashback to the first line of this story

This was not a multiple-choice answer on an exam

This wasn’t a let’s see how you feel in a few weeks

The answer was clear cut

Get that thing out ASAP and then let’s see what happens

Testicular Cancer is a nuanced type of the disease that you can’t perform a biopsy on

Meaning, you can’t test a sample of it before it’s removed to see if it’s dangerous or not

So the only course of action is to give the offending member his marching orders

Anyway, back to it

On March 12, I will be bidding farewell to one of the downstairs employees for the final time

The left one, the realist, the one that always hangs lowest

Taken out to stud for all his hard work

He’s been making acquaintances with some less civil types from the biology world

To all my male readership

This can serve as a good reminder to you to get anything suspicious checked

To my female audience

A similar reminder to get anything suspicious checked on your lady-specific parts

It can be a strange, funny, and uncomfortable thing to get looked at

But at the end of the day

Doctors are just there to help guide you in the right direction

and I can guarantee they deal with things much worse than seeing someones Penis or Boobs

To further clarify

I don’t officially have testicular cancer at the time of writing (6/3/25)

I have to find out from some further results post surgery to get that info

Until then

Normal routines and good times

Before I continue on here

I just want to say to anyone reading

I’m doing great and despite it being a far from ideal result

I feel very lucky for a number of obvious reasons that I actually got this sorted when I did

I feel very lucky to have amazing family and friends who support me during these times too

Fret not dear reader

I will soon recover and will be back to my international voyages soon enough

Anyway, back to it

When I was younger

I’d moan about these less than ideal circumstances that came my way

“Why me?”

Like I’d been singled out in a global conspiring prank

The only one out of eight billion getting a rough deal

It’s comical to think about having that mindset through many years of my childhood

Becoming completely overwhelmed and angry about the universe conspiring to ruin my life

My over-anxious mind picturing every worst case scenario imaginable

Maybe over time I’ve just clocked enough years

Enough bricks of experience in the wall to build a better foundation

Maybe it’s those trips to far away lands

Late-night discussions over room temperature beers on hostel rooftops

Those bus rides through less glamorous parts of town

That changed my perspective on it all

Everyone’s got their stuff, don’t they?

Those unexpected trials and tribulations we all get sent our way

The ones we expect

The ones we don’t

The ones you receive when everything else is coming down

It’s not about why it lands on your doorstep

It’s about how you deal with the information that’s presented to you

I hope that little recount didn’t read as a sob story

That’s really the last thing I’d want

Life for all it is isn’t that serious

All things considered

Whatever I’ve ever been worried about

Isn’t that deep

I do think it’s important to share some of the less glamorous moments with people along the way

We’ve become used to only seeing the highlight reels of people’s lives

I included, tend to only share the great moments

the highest highs

But we all know that’s not life in its majority

We’re a generation so overwhelmed by this showcase lifestyle

Sometimes it’s nice to share experiences that are raw, authentic, and well

Less glamorous

Everyone has them

but it’s a lot easier to just show the good stuff

So that’s where I’m at now and it’s what I’m getting into today

A phrase that has liberated many people all over the world

It is, what it is

It’s beautiful, isn’t it

The perfect scapegoat for the most heinous things life hurls your way

The stoics call it Amor Fati

Latin for “love of fate,”

meaning to embrace whatever happens without resistance

Taoism calls it

Wu Wei (无为) – Meaning “effortless action” or “going with the flow.”

Taoism teaches that the universe follows its own natural course

Meaning things will happen as they will

Resisting it only creates suffering

Even Zen Buddhism calls it something

Mu (無) – A Zen concept of emptiness, signifying that things just are, without inherent meaning

Whatever you choose to call it

It’s a great way to detach yourself from that chaos going on around you

Let’s dig into this phrase a bit more and see how it pops up in different contexts

whether it’s in everyday situations

Health scares, or just the little moments when life hands you something unexpected

Detours deliver

Life sometimes serves some of its best moments up when you least expect it

Like when you’re in a foreign country

Tired, hungry, and without the tried and tested Google reviews to point you in the right direction

You set off in no particular direction

and end stumbling across a roadside restaurant

Eating at a restaurant on a plastic stool with a bowl of something you’re not quite sure it is

and it ends up altering your life

It’s the way life goes sometimes

The unexpected moments in time you can’t prepare for

When you find yourself on a different path to the one you were on yesterday

I’ve stopped seeing detours as failures

They’re course corrections towards where you’re heading

If you’re heading from A to B

It’s never going to be in a straight line

You’re going to zig, zag, look around, and meet new people along the way

I’ve started seeing them as side quests with their own perks

This year my surgery has sidelined my travel plans temporarily

Annoying, Sure

But it handed me these unexpected days with family and friends

Hanging out with my old boy now he’s hung up the employment boots

Things we haven’t been able to do for years because we’ve both been working

Both in different time zones (Dad worked night shift all his life)

It’s been grouse

and something I wouldn’t have experienced if my travel plans had gone ahead as planned

Maybe for you it’s a breakup

The upside is realising you’ve got space to chase something you’ve been ignoring

Or you get sick

Days in bed give your mind time to realize how fast you’ve been going, how hard you’ve been pushing

You find a weird comfort in slowing down for once.

What’s worked for me is taking stock of in that unexpected situation

Sitting with a coffee or staring at the ceiling—and asking, “What’s one thing I can be thankful for here?”

Could be a laugh you shared, a lesson you learned, or just the fact you’re still kicking to tell the tale.

There’s always a shard of light, even if it’s faint

No matter how bleak it might look

Those liberating words might help you in your darkest hours

“it is what it is”

Let it guide you to that speck of good.

It doesn’t fix everything

But it shapes the rough edges into something you can carry without breaking

Shape your own

Three years ago, in 2022

I lost both of my grandfathers within 24 hours

The odds of that happening?

Astronomically small

And yet, somehow, my family hit the jackpot on one of the worst bingo cards imaginable

Now, I’m not sharing this as a “feel sorry for me” moment

I promise there’s no tiny violin playing in the background

It’s nice to be able to share these things I’ve experienced with the world

I bring it up because loss is something every single person will have to deal with at some point

It’s unavoidable

When that time comes, you have a choice

You can drown in the weight of it, or you can find a way

However small – to shift your perspective

Sometimes, the only silver lining is gratitude for what was

Either way, the choice is yours

Anyway, where was I

Two great men, gone just like that

My Nonno from leukemia, my Pop from an accident

As I was still processing the loss of the first, I woke up to the news of losing the second

Not exactly the best few days. And honestly, trying to reframe something like that in a positive light?

Not easy

Losing a loved one is hard enough, losing two back to back is something else entirely

But between the tears of those days

I kept coming back to one thing: the lives they lived

Both made it past 80

They had been surrounded by family, friends, and so much love

My Nonno was married to my Nonna for over 60 years

Sixty years.

Some people don’t even get to live that long

And beyond that, they had things that made them happy

My Pop always had the Chelsea Yacht club, the football club, and was never far away from a cold beer

That’s what he loved

They always had things that they cherished

I was lucky enough to have 25 years with both of them

Not everyone gets that

The time was always going to come, but I got to know them

To share life with them, to build memories I’ll keep forever

For that, I’ll always feel grateful

And that’s the thing

Life has a way of throwing us into situations we never saw coming

Some hits like a slow burn

Others like a freight train

But in the end

We all face moments where we have to decide

Do we let it break us

or do we find a way to rewrite the narrative?

Yousuke Yukimatsu found himself at that exact crossroads

His story, though different

Carries the same lesson

How a single moment

No matter how devastating

Can become the push to live life on your own terms

A Japanese DJ and producer from Osaka

Yousuke spent most of his life working a construction job he hated

To make ends meet. Then, in 2016

Everything changed

He was diagnosed with brain cancer

For most people, news like that would feel like the end

It’s all-consuming, the kind of thing that makes everything else in life fade into the background

But instead of sinking into despair

Yousuke made a choice

That same day, he quit his job and committed fully to his quiet passion—DJing.

His diagnosis, as devastating as it was, became the push he needed to finally go all in

A complete reframe of his circumstances

Instead of seeing it as the end

He saw it as permission to live exactly how he wanted

If his days were numbered, he’d at least spend them the way he wanted

A total reframe of his circumstances

Instead of focusing on his diagnosis

He chose to focus on what that diagnosis could do for him

If his days were limited, why do something he hated every day?

He has now fully recovered from his surgery and at the age of 44

Is one of the largest DJs in the world

Something that may not have been possible if he’d never had such a dire medical diagnosis

Spend your energy wisely

Energy is like your own currency

Every day you wake up

you’ve only got so much of it

Some days more, some days less

So spend it where it matters

The problem?

Most people don’t

For a long time, I wasted my time on things that drained me

Stress, overthinking, stuff that didn’t change a thing

I once heard an analogy that fits perfectly

Worry is like paying a debt you don’t owe

It doesn’t do anything

but it robs you of time and energy

Overanalyzing conversations, holding onto grudges, getting mad over delays

None of it adds value, it just burns through your reserves

Leaving you tired over things you can’t control

Not everything deserves your reaction

Not everything needs your care

The flight gets delayed, you’ll still get there

Someone cuts you off in traffic, you’ll forget about it in five minutes

A plan falls through? Maybe something better comes along

The moment you start seeing these things for what they are

Minor inconveniences, not personal attacks—the easier it becomes to let them go

As much as we want life to be smooth and efficient, that’s just not realistic

I’ve learned life’s full of unexpected moments

Plans fall through, things pop up, buses are late, it’s all part of the ride

That’s what makes the journey fun

Here’s the thing:

Those things only affect you if you let them

How you react?

That’s what really matters

Sure, it feels like everything’s going wrong sometimes

But you have full control over how you react

Will you get stuck in frustration, or is there an opportunity to roll with it?

We’re all human, it’s easy to get caught up in the loop

But what’s really to be gained from feeling angry about something?

Life will always throw something at you, big or small

The more you roll with it, the easier it is to let go of the tension

You’ll notice

You can’t control the chaos around you, but you can control how much energy you give it

What happens, what others do, what you can’t change—that’s all out of your hands

But your response?

That’s all yours

That’s not to say life won’t throw real challenges your way

It will

That’s exactly why you need to be selective about where you put your energy

Because when the things that really matter are worth your time

Health, relationships, opportunities—you want to be available

If you’ve spent your day stressing over a delayed coffee order or a rude email

What’s left for the things that deserve your attention?

Letting go isn’t about apathy, it’s about prioritization

Save your energy for what moves you forward

The things that make your life better

The things you’ll actually remember years from now

Good or bad, who knows?

A few weeks ago I read about this famous Chinese proverb

No one knows who wrote it, but it comes from ancient folklore

One of those ones I picture being whispered some 4000 years ago

In the hills of Xi’an

Only to have such important lessons

That it was passed down the next 85 generations

It’s a good story

With a simple message

It is titled ‘Good or bad, who knows”

it goes like the following

A Chinese farmer had a horse

One day, it ran away

The neighbors said, “What bad luck”

The farmer simply replied, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows”

The next day, the horse returned

It brought several more horses with it

The neighbors said, “What good luck”

The farmer replied, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows”

The farmer’s son rode one of the wild horses

He was thrown off and broke his leg

The neighbors said, “What bad luck”

The farmer replied, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows”

A few days later, soldiers came to take young men for war

They left the son behind because of his broken leg

The neighbors said, “What good luck”

The farmer said, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows”

At first glance, it seems like a series of fortunate and unfortunate events

A rollercoaster of emotions for the average person

But the farmer’s response

“Good luck, bad luck, who knows?”

Reveals a good lesson

He doesn’t rush to judge any of the circumstances, no matter how they appear

Each event, whether perceived as good or bad

It’s just part of life

Ultimately, you can’t predict how things will unfold

What seems like a setback in one moment could be the very thing that leads to something better

What feels like a stroke of luck may come with hidden challenges down the road

This mindset—of accepting things as they come

Aligns perfectly with the “It is what it is” approach to life.

Rather than overthinking or stressing about every little twist and turn

You simply accept what happens and what is and move forward

When life throws the unexpected your way

Don’t waste energy on frustration or disappointment

Instead, you see them as part of the ride

Life isn’t perfect, but you control how you react to it

Sometimes, events that seem like misfortune at first lead to a greater opportunity

The trick is not getting bogged down in the moment

No one knows where the road will take us

It’s the journey that matters

With a flexible mindset, you save yourself from unnecessary stress

You stop trying to control everything, and instead, you focus on the things you can control

This proverb is a good reminder that life doesn’t always unfold in the way we expect

We can aim for a certain existence

But there will always be detours along the way

We can’t always see the bigger picture

But, the way we choose to react to it is entirely up to us

It’s about embracing the flow of life, not fighting against it

You learn to stop judging events based on their surface value

Instead, let them unfold as they may

In the end, all you can really do is let life be what it is

These things all happen to us

and trust that things will work out as they should

Conclusion

It was nice to write about this theme

It is easy to feel isolated with our problems in a world that is so connected today

Hopefully if you’re reading this and you’re going through you’re own version of a detour

You’re getting through it, making changes, and finding some nuggets of joy

If life went completely our way every single time

No one would be very fulfilled

The challenging moments

The uncertainty, the detours

They’re what make the human experience meaningful

I used to lose a lot of sleep over things I couldn’t control for a long time

Even today, but to a much lesser extent

It’s a work in progress, like everything else

Some days, it’s easier to let things roll off your back

Other days, you catch yourself spiraling over something that,

In hindsight, won’t matter in a week

That’s just how it goes

But the more you remind yourself that life isn’t out to get you

That detours aren’t personal attacks

That sometimes, the things that feel like roadblocks are actually just redirections

The easier it gets

“It is what it is” isn’t about giving up

It’s about making peace with the things you can’t change

Saving your energy for what actually matters

Trusting that the dots will eventually connect

even if they don’t make sense yet

And in the meantime, you roll with the punches

preferably avoiding any that require getting a testicle removed

LB