During my visit last week
to see Erin for acupuncture, we discussed the physical, mental, and emotional
aspects with regard to my illness. I
told her that on the first day, I felt a “fire” brewing in my belly as I
thought about how I contracted the flu.
If I did not mention this in my last post, I picked it up from someone
at work who laughed when I “thanked” him for sharing the gift that keeps on
giving. I then related to Erin how I
used the MBSR body scan to induce a deep relaxation response that (in
combination with Nutrition Response Testing) helped me turn the corner in a
couple of days. It still amazes me how
the body has the innate ability to heal itself if we give it a chance.
Next, we talked about how I stand on a
very narrow ledge between where I am now, and jumping back into the roller
coaster of emotional outbursts that I had been accustomed to in my struggle
with PTSD. Erin reminded me that it’s
good to have this ledge as a constant reminder that my healing will be a
lifetime process. It keeps one from
developing a superman syndrome that has become synonymous with life as a public
servant. Our discussion then moved on to
a story about a friend of hers who did her own soul-searching in the wake of a
couple of obstacles that life had thrown her way. Here, my friends is where we learn a most
important lesson about life.
Erin’s friend (who is an attorney by
trade), has a toddler son who is currently being treated with rounds of
chemotherapy for leukemia. His mother is
on a leave of absence from work to take care of her son, as well as two other
children. One day, in the recent past,
this young boy’s grandfather paid a visit to see his grandson and had given him
a hug. Sometime thereafter, he passed
away. Erin told me that her friend began
to question why life was heaping such grief upon her family at such a critical
time. Did she show great resolve in
overcoming her struggles? The answer to
this question is resounding yes. Erin related that on the day of the funeral,
this woman eloquently delivered the closing argument (eulogy) about her
father’s life. At this time the family is taking life as it unfolds before them.
After hearing this story, I can truly say
that I know what the phrase “life is precious” means. Here was I, bemoaning my fate that someone
passed on a short-lived illness to me, so what.
In the comparative grand scheme of things that was no reason to become
angry. We are given only a certain
number of breaths in this lifetime, and do not know when they will come to an
end. We are not guaranteed the next
minute, hour, day, week, month, year, decade, and so on. That’s why we need to live in the moment-by
the moment, and enjoy all that life has to offer. I am certain that Erin’s friend and her
family are doing just that.
I recently took up the practice of
Kundalini Yoga which I will tell you about in a future post. We end each practice with the Long Time Sun
song which is repeated three times in conjunction with a prayer that the
student projects as follows:
·
One for yourself, to self-bless.
·
One for someone you know who needs it.
·
One for World peace.
I
promised Erin that from now until this young boy heals, I would project this
second prayer on his behalf. You will
find the Long Time Sun song (which repeats three times) in the following
YouTube video. When the verse repeats
for the second time, and if you feel so inclined, please join me in projecting
a healing prayer on his behalf. It is
not important that you know his name (I will take care of that), just know that
he exists and needs our healing energy.
In
health and wellness,
Tim
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