Ignite a New You

Wednesday, I served on the faculty of the Cultural Competency course held at MD Anderson and spoke about whole person living; living a life of happiness, engagement, and a life of meaning.  I told my story about breaking my back and lying in the hospital for 6 months, watching the man across the hall lose his legs, and making a promise to myself that if I ever walked again, somehow I’d give back.  That decision drove me to graduate school, and many of the choices I’ve made in my wellness career.  Not everyone has an igniting experience that drives them through their lives, but we all need to feel like we make a difference, and our life has meaning.  Consider how you make a difference in the lives of others this weekend, and ignite a new you!

Life Takes Time to Live

She looked up as we passed and said, “It’s cold again!”  We had just parked; she was a nurse and was headed for the hospital several streets over.  Her greeting got me thinking of how life is made up of places we’ve been, and the unknown.  For some the unknown becomes a small grain of doubt or fear, which grows into an anxiety that takes over their lives.  Mark Nepo in his book, The Exquisite Risk, tells us, “Life takes time to live”, and as a cancer survivor I’ve learned my hardest job is to let the unknown of my journey just unfold.  Patience weaves a peace in my journey that gives my life unexpected joy and wholeness.  Today, find joy in the moment and the way things are. 

Moments of Love

She knew I worked at MD Anderson, so had ask me to visit a friend.  He was dying and his eyes were scared.  For several years he’d been in and out of emergency rooms for what he described as too much food and drink, but this time it was different.  Tears streamed down his face as he finished his story, shut his eyes, and just cried.  When he opened his eyes I could tell he’d known all along, he just didn’t want to believe it was there.  We’ve all been there, knowing the truth, but unwilling or too scared to accept it.  She called me months later; he’d died at home surrounded by friends accepting the moment and their love.  Today, be open to moments of love. 

Soul Work

Yesterday, I had lunch with my grandkids and then we played trucks and fire engines; it’s the kind of soul work that always makes me laugh and smile.  Jon Kabat-Zinn, talks about soul work as the process of drinking at the life stream.  But you can’t drink and be nourished by your life stream if you’re not present.  Our thoughts constantly distract us from life as we live in our protective autopilot modes.  My youngest grandchild is 15 months and starting to pick up words from his big brother.  Eagerly he waits as we play with the big dump truck, and finally says, “My turn”.  Today, when it’s your turn to drink from the life stream be mindfully present for this moment won’t happen again. 

Mindful Connections with Your Past

My skating Saturday took me to my old neighborhood and a visit with Marine.  Our kids were close to the same age, and she told me about her girls and their families.  At some point she touched my arm, and with tears in her eyes told me about the very first time we’d met, “You were holding baby Chandra in the front yard”.  We talked, laughed, shared stories, and I left skating the old neighborhood following kid memories of birthday parties, Cub & Brownie meeting, but mindful of my skating.   Sunday it was too wet to skate, so I walked.  Mid-walk I found a rose climbing a wall, and was brushed again by Marine’s tears, through the roses’ beauty.  Mix joy memories this week with present moment’s mindfully connected to your past.      

The Power of Words

I could barely walk, couldn’t drive, and so took the bus to work.  By mid-morning I was in an orthopedic clinic getting an x-ray.  After waiting what felt like hours, I went to the door to hear the doctor say, “I have a man with a broken back and I need a…”, he turned saw me standing, rushed to my side and gently laid me back down on the examining table and I didn’t walk again for over a year.  Words that change our lives, “Billy your mom is dying”, “Bill your dad just died”, “Mr. Baun, you have aggressive prostate cancer”, “I love you!”, and “you have progressive metastatic cancer in the pelvic lymph nodes”.  Words might change our journey, but they don’t have to change who we are or who we become.  How will you choose to react to life today?

Awesome Power of Love

I was raised in a very active church family.  My dad was always superintendent of something and ran the church kitchen, and my mom was the lead kindergarten teacher for Sunday school, and the day school.  We sat in the same spot, on the same pew every Sunday, left front 7 pews back, right next to the choir loft, so my mom could sing along with the choir.  I remember her funeral for many reasons, but one that haunted me for years was that we were in the wrong pew.  The week after her funeral I went back to our Church several times and sat in our pew, held her hymnal and listen to her sing.  Never doubt the awesome power of love.