People in your life

I have had many profound experiences with people in my life the last two days. Their experiences have had such an effect on me, which is interesting as there really is no direct correlation (or very little correlation) to my daily life.

1. My cousin, age 46, had brain tumor surgery - 16 hours - in September. He is now at home after going through therapy, spending time at my Aunt & Uncle's house, and is on the road to recovery. His wife put a blog on the website she writes for and the whole story is very vivid and emotional. Praise to God for his recovery.
2. I suprised the janiter lady who lets me into my office door every day as she said she was deep in thought. Her daughter, age 32, had blood in her stool and they won't be able to do the remaining test until December 2nd. I could see the worry in Sue's eyes, as she told me about her own colon cancer surgery in 2002.
3. My step-dad had surgery last week and although he came through the surgery well, his recovery and future quality of life are in question. My mother's caregiving is required full time and her strength and stamina are a gift to him. Who is caring for the caregiver?
4. One of the ladies we are working for just came back from a 4 week trip to Hawaii. I asked her how her vacation was, and her answer was, "I always say my last vacation was the best ever, but this vacation was the best vacation ever. We have already booked our 5 week vacation next year. I start my move to retirement by starting to work half time in November." Her spirit and enthusiasm for life was a boost to me as we talked about her life and the many gifts that she has been given (Fullbright scholar, studying in France, etc.,), I basked in the joy in her eyes as she talked about her rich, full life and her retirement plans.

People in your life. We are all so independent and yet so interrelated. And there are so many other people in my life that I am not mentioning that have their daily struggles and triumphs. What can we all do to help each other? I pray daily. My prayer life has become a great deal fuller and richer over the past few years, so I know that is enough for now.

Enjoy your today and be well.

A very good breathing exercise

The following is from my daily http://www.morningcoach.com/ e-mail. The breathing exercise is very helpful as you can do it anywhere if you do not have time to sit and meditate. Last night as I worked in the garden and my mind wanted to wander into negative thoughts, I did the breathing exercise to get back into the moment. I had a very enjoyable evening and today am in a much better frame of mind.

"The great Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hahn spoke about how being mindful and keeping our attention focused, you will be able to gain insight into the object that you are focusing on, Thich Nhat Hahn shared a beautiful poem to help us focus on our breathing, the first word on each line represents the in-breath and the second word on each line represents the out-breath.

In, Out
Deep, Slow
Calm, Ease
Smile, Release
Present moment, Wonderful moment

If thoughts start to pop into your mind, just patiently start over again, eventually your skill will increase, and eventually you will be able to focus your mind on anything you need to gain insight into. The beauty of this simple practice is that it can be done any where, while we are driving, walking, or standing on line, use it anytime you are frustrated or impatient, it will pull your mind out of those non productive thoughts that are upsetting you and give you a moment of peace.

Please do not take my word for this, there is a line in the Buddhist text on training the mind in seven points that states” The meaning of this text should be known” what this means is that we can only truly know and understand the value something if we actually put it into practice, so as I leave you to your breath work, I will also now stop and breath in and out :)"