Is Your Work Larger than Life?

There are days I get lost at work.  Yesterday afternoon I found myself lost in multi-tasking the healthcare data I’ve been grinding away at for days, the chapter I’ve been trying to finish for months, and the daily barrage of emails.  I smiled, the picture I’d taken in the Colorado Springs airport flashed before my eyes.  Work had become larger than life.  Years ago I published a poem called the Chase, and a few lines rang so true, “we race through life, always feeling one step behind that which we chase / our path becomes a maze which we pass through many times / never looking back to catch a glimpse of that which we’ve been chasing so very far behind.”  Don’t let work get larger than life today. 

Soul Moments - Acts of Caring

The book Soul Moments is filled with stories of synchronicity or meaningful coincidences.  Yesterday, I had back to back meetings between 9am-4pm, as I left my 1st meeting at Physician Relations; I was mesmerized by the red dress heart on their wall.  My next meeting I sat next to Roger, a friend whose dad had just stopped practicing medicine and was now struggling after letting go of his life’s passion. During my short walk to the next meeting I felt the soul moment.  Caring is at the “heart” of MD Anderson and for many employees a balancing act of passion, compassion and self-care.  Celebrate Valentines this year by promising to better balance acts of your heart / life!

Love & Hope Purring

Friday afternoon MaryBeth was home, and both of us slept the day away.  Saturday and Sunday, she read, I worked in our front garden, and was starting to think her recovery was going to be easy.  2:30am Monday the inside and outside pain hit her hard and the pain+pills brought on nausea.  Somewhere in the midst of the moans, wet towels, and plastic bowls I had a vision of my mom’s last cat Snowball.  You could feel his deep purr, and unconditional love that somehow gave us all hope.  Monday afternoon, our cat Precious was sitting on my lap, MaryBeth was sleeping and I was reminded of the power of love and hope.  Try a little purring today. 

Gratitude Prayers at MD Anderson

The anesthesiologist stood, her assistant swept the drapes to the side and released the bed brake.  MaryBeth was still talking as I bent down and caught her last words with my lips and told her, “I love you”, and then in a blink she was gone to surgery.  As I walked to the waiting room, I could feel the beginning of tears, not fear tears, but memory tears of sitting with her early that morning in the chapel, holding her hand and listening to her gratitude prayers.  Twelve hours later the same gratitude prayers pour from her mouth, and I once again feel the flow of tears.  Find time for gratitude prayers today. 

One O'clock Lab Band Moving On

In the late 70’s I was a UNT graduate student living in the Red Ghetto for $70 a month, across the street from the home of One O’clock Lab Band.  My apartment was almost 200 sq. ft. including an attached bathroom.  It had a stove, but no kitchen sink, and no heat; I washed my dishes in the bath tub.  Early one Saturday morning I woke to the sound of heavy equipment.  Those of us living in the Red Ghetto gathered outside to find a bulldozer about to demolish the structure.  After calling the Red Ghetto owner we were given a week to find new homes.  Life has a way of pushing us on sometimes, and in my experience usually to better places.  My next $70 apartment had a full kitchen, bedroom, bath, and was heated, but I did miss the sounds of the One O’clock Lab Band. 

Mark Nepo - What will you give up?

January came way to fast and then in a blink it was gone and February was here and I began to think about last year.  Maybe it’s being in my mid-sixties, or maybe it’s my cancer journey, but I find a huge need to get rid of those pieces of me that are no longer working.  Things that made others uncomfortable, derailed or confused some relationships, and at times kept me frustrated.  In The Book of Awakening, Nepo talks about removing what is no longer real, what no longer works in order to stay close to what is sacred.  What will you give up?

Believe in Life and Paddle Strong

On my flight back from my keynote to the First Coast Worksite Wellness Council Friday, I sat by the window mesmerized by the coastline, clouds, and rivers below.  We’ve all been there; moments in life’s white water where we want to wish away those things in life that don’t seem fair.  But then a long winding river came into view and I immediately felt the excitement and passion for the journey and what lay around the bend, mindful of my journey and the guiding strength of my bowman.  Today, believe in life and paddle strong.