Suffering of Others

While at a volunteer luncheon with many people who put far more hours than I do, I was listening to the hospital CEO awarding them. One fellow was his friend and a volunteer for 20 years. I don’t see him in the course of my volunteering, but began to wonder how these two came to be friends. The CEO/Dr is miles away from the volunteer in pay and stature. I also was wondering why his name was the same as the hospital name where my mom had to hire a private nurse to just to make sure I wasn’t inexplicably expired. That brought back a new set of memories. Never the less, when upon completion of the luncheon I ran into the volunteer pro in the washroom. Observing that he had some deficits, my heart suddenly went out to him. I said, Hi and asked him if the CEO was related to the other hospital. He told me they have no connection. In talking it became quickly obvious he is suffering from something, but I don’t sound all that great either. A simple bond. He told me he has early alzheimer's, while walking out. I thanked him for his service in a real show of heart felt appreciation. Spontaneously, I felt compelled to give him a hug, knowing every day must be difficult and trying. And, I felt lucky again, my concerns waned.

Difficulty is mostly a mental experience. If you enjoy what you are doing, even with serious physical ailments subside with the degree of happiness. It falls true with my speech, if I am rested and enjoy the dialogue my speech or helping others it is so much clearer. I look physically well and fit, but once I speak people often assume I am drunk or deaf. So, I have to get past their preconceptions just to order a coffee. It can be frustrating and often friends who are with me cannot believe that I say the right word, but some people can’t figure me out and my friends will blurt out, He said, so and so. This has been a great way to learn patience and acceptance of others, for me. I often laugh at myself, or practice several times before speaking out loud. But basically, we(me included) all say too much as a general rule, so we can’t expect to be great listeners. If you really listen you’ll realize the suffering of others… even in its minor forms of simple discomfort.

Riding that Wave

Rolling over to the downward phase of life’s cycle in the usual parabolic wave of happiness I biked out in the sun. I am still working on the internal flame of happiness that resides in each one of us. Knowing if I combine meditation with the bike ride I can equalize the external to the internal. It is a process of accessing our internal well. As always, I write this to remind myself. If I stop my habit of piling all the bad or troublesome worries into one mountain you cannot climb. But I do find the more I meditate these slight down cycles are less long and less strong. So meditation helps to me to avoid use of any drugs and helps boost my happiness quotient. I do find that it brings me much closer to reality and to more normal expectations of myself and the view of the world. Today, on Service Day, I volunteered to clean up the beach with a rake and picked up trash. Surprised that there is so much Styrofoam broken into shell size pieces all over. No, I wonder how much is contained in sand when it is reduced by the wave action. I was not alone, as there were at least 150 near by and more way down the beach. A surfer and an older person who were not involved in the clean up, saw me and said Thank you. That was a nice relaxed way of being connected and rolling back up. That looks like a pet muskrat rolling his head back to look at you in the right of my photo.

A sunday drive

Even though I meditate I went on a Sunday drive to get out of my rut. It can be the same old things but out of your environment they somehow look fresh. Actually, what it is...is a refreshed mind looking at them. I have a few very important challenges coming up and I want to make clean and well thought out decisions about them. Taking the day to remind myself how lucky I am instead of being too self-critical.

I knew the following day I would go to the hospital again to volunteer and talk to new brain injury survivors. Every time I see them it brings me to a more realistic view of life. It is also good to see clients who are already seeing some hope and changes. I tell them to remember to have humor about yourself, when you can’t quite achieve those high goals. Most people would benefit from a hospital visit to make them quickly realize that their life is fine. But who I am to tell people what to do, as it will come to them when they are ready.