Be Open to the Moments

It was a very special day.  My two grandsons were to be baptized.  The service opened with the hymn Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.  We were sitting so close to the choir and church organ you could feel the music.  As we sang the last word “praise”, a tiny voice in the middle of our pew kept singing.  It resounded throughout the church, and instantly I was filled with the joy of knowing my oldest grandson had been touched by the moment.  In his book The Exquisite Risk, Nepo describes tumbling into moments that become “an all-encompassing atmosphere of Spirit”, almost missed.  Be open to the sacredness of life today.    

Memorial Day 2014

The feelings and memories always come back around Memorial Day, some of their names and faces I remember; some are just the wail of medevac copter blades.  MaryBeth was having a hard time understanding why I wanted some along time, until I couldn’t hold back the tears.  We were all so young, invincible, and naive about life and war.  Sunday, my two Houston grandsons were baptized, and as we prayed for their young souls, I realized, as I do every Memorial Day, how precious life is, a gift not to be wasted.  Today, don’t waste a minute of the gift called life. 

Stuck in Desert Storm

Billy fought in Desert Storm with the 101^st Airborne Division and Saturday I skated over to the bicycle shop where he works to thank him for serving his country.  He’s got a beard, 3ft ponytail, and airborne tattoos, rides a bike 12 miles to work, rents a room by the week, and is 150lbs over weight.  He hated the Army, the war, but he’s stuck in Desert Storm.  The Roman poet Persius said it best, “We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays.” Today reach for tomorrow with what you learned through your yesterdays. 

CanCare's Survivor Day

Yesterday, I had the honor of attending the CanCare’s 20^th Cancer Survivor Day Luncheon with MD Anderson’s Survivorship team.  The keynote was Navy Captain Mark Kelly, astronaut, cancer survivor, and husband of Gabby Gifford.  He talked about his career as a Gulf War pilot, astronaut, and the Arizona assassination attempt killing 6, wounding 13, and leaving Gabby with a gunshot to her head.  His message was about the power of passion, courage, hope, and resilience when life has us fighting back.  But he also told a love story between Gabby and himself, and their love of life.  Fall back in love with life today!

Far More Possibilities

Amazing Place Houston

They sat in the booth behind me, he was very thin, wore an oxygen bottle, and I could hear their conversation about his dysphagia, a condition that interferes with swallowing. My last meeting for the day was at Amazing Place, a wellness center for those with mild to moderate memory loss.  I couldn’t help but think about all those times I’d had a hard time swallowing life, letting go, moving on and opening myself up to far more possibilities.  I stood; we talked for a few minutes about our cancers and as I walked away I realized he’d let go of his fear and opened himself up for far more possibilities.  Be open to life today. 

Inside-Out Living

I finished teaching my webinar on “aging well” last night a little after 7pm. After the phone and computer connections were broken I sat surrounded by my words about learning to thrive by living inside-out.  I’d ended the webinar by talking about when I was the family bedtime story teller; connecting with moments filled with love, joy and so far away from the rat race.  We all have these precious moments inside of us, waiting to be recalled to ground us in the calmness of our own well-being.  Thrive today through inside-out living. 

Hurricane Gifts

By the time I was out of the neighborhood I realized it was raining hard, not a scooter day, but I was already halfway to work.  A gust of wind and rain hit my face and I was a little boy again, dragging a mattress with my mom and sister to the hallway for cover, listening to the horrifying sounds of a hurricane.  I was really scared and kept thinking this had to be the worst night of my life.  But then I’m under the mattress in the warmth of my mother’s arms and she’s replaced my bad thoughts with her love.  As a cancer survivor I’ve learned there are no bad days anymore.  Be mindful today of the gifts each day brings.