Life is Good
Greetings,
I went home after a busy day working out in the field with client appointments. I relieved John of Chase care and drove with my son to the Stanford Shopping Mall to stroll and get some fresh air. It was late afternoon on a brilliantly sunny and lush summer day. The temperature was in the high 70's with a warm breeze. I was thrilled to have Chase as a date to enjoy this gorgeous day.
I was suddenly struck by a semi familiar sound of a helicopter nearing, descending, hovering and, preparing to land. I became aware of its purpose. For me, everything stopped for a moment, all thoughts and actions. I remember the first time I experienced a life flight landing at Stanford Hospital. It was an increasingly loud, fast paced, low pitched, vibrating noise. I inquired what it was for I could not see it, with a nurse at Chase's bedside while my son lay there healing from his first open heart surgery. Its' impact is profound to me. These helicopters represent life and death. There is a life to be saved right here and right now by some doctors, or organ donation, or blood transfusion, or something, or someone!
What is a persons life I wondered. I imagined it is the seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling human being that exists today as we know them disappearing from contact. We are made up of our perceptions of what we sense is going on around us. How our life happens or we happen to it is all locked up inside that person. We can no longer share our lives with people if they die.
I do think of my mortality everyday since I met Chase. There is a thin line between life and death. I received a gift on March 1st 2004. My son came to me as a teacher. He is the embodiment of all the senses I imagine to make up a living person. I am fascinated to watch him discover his surroundings. He depends on his senses to explore his world. Most people do not do that because they do not need to for survival, do not care, or sadly do not have the time to do so. Chase has slowed me down some and showed me to take more time to experience the right here and now with him. If we naturally, as babies, only experience here and now, why don't we use or senses to guide us all the time?
We are a present to give and receive after being born. In order to accept that gift with each other we have to remain immersed in the now and enjoy its luxury. Our time is always running out or there is not enough of it. If we are spending our time indulging in our existence then all there is, is an abundance of time, all the time.
I've seen clients in or business (all Seniors) who have spent there whole adult lives preparing to enjoy their time when retired. They make many sacrifices in order to prepare for this time while working and raising a family. They essentially pass through time, retire, and one falls ill. Then they are faced with the reality of being unable to embark toward that journey of perceived free time.
Time is always free if we make it. Now is the time to delight in our presence and those around us before there is no time.
Chase has stopped time and that is his gift for me. All I have is time because he is on limited time, I believed. And then it became crystal clear that we are all on limited time.....
Maybe we should create more of life's celebrations so that when we gather for one's departure; we will have shared an abundance of life with that person.
The best definition of love I know is: "The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or anothers spiritual growth." Scott M Peck
Lovingly,
Chase's aspiring student Tara
I went home after a busy day working out in the field with client appointments. I relieved John of Chase care and drove with my son to the Stanford Shopping Mall to stroll and get some fresh air. It was late afternoon on a brilliantly sunny and lush summer day. The temperature was in the high 70's with a warm breeze. I was thrilled to have Chase as a date to enjoy this gorgeous day.
I was suddenly struck by a semi familiar sound of a helicopter nearing, descending, hovering and, preparing to land. I became aware of its purpose. For me, everything stopped for a moment, all thoughts and actions. I remember the first time I experienced a life flight landing at Stanford Hospital. It was an increasingly loud, fast paced, low pitched, vibrating noise. I inquired what it was for I could not see it, with a nurse at Chase's bedside while my son lay there healing from his first open heart surgery. Its' impact is profound to me. These helicopters represent life and death. There is a life to be saved right here and right now by some doctors, or organ donation, or blood transfusion, or something, or someone!
What is a persons life I wondered. I imagined it is the seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling human being that exists today as we know them disappearing from contact. We are made up of our perceptions of what we sense is going on around us. How our life happens or we happen to it is all locked up inside that person. We can no longer share our lives with people if they die.
I do think of my mortality everyday since I met Chase. There is a thin line between life and death. I received a gift on March 1st 2004. My son came to me as a teacher. He is the embodiment of all the senses I imagine to make up a living person. I am fascinated to watch him discover his surroundings. He depends on his senses to explore his world. Most people do not do that because they do not need to for survival, do not care, or sadly do not have the time to do so. Chase has slowed me down some and showed me to take more time to experience the right here and now with him. If we naturally, as babies, only experience here and now, why don't we use or senses to guide us all the time?
We are a present to give and receive after being born. In order to accept that gift with each other we have to remain immersed in the now and enjoy its luxury. Our time is always running out or there is not enough of it. If we are spending our time indulging in our existence then all there is, is an abundance of time, all the time.
I've seen clients in or business (all Seniors) who have spent there whole adult lives preparing to enjoy their time when retired. They make many sacrifices in order to prepare for this time while working and raising a family. They essentially pass through time, retire, and one falls ill. Then they are faced with the reality of being unable to embark toward that journey of perceived free time.
Time is always free if we make it. Now is the time to delight in our presence and those around us before there is no time.
Chase has stopped time and that is his gift for me. All I have is time because he is on limited time, I believed. And then it became crystal clear that we are all on limited time.....
Maybe we should create more of life's celebrations so that when we gather for one's departure; we will have shared an abundance of life with that person.
The best definition of love I know is: "The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or anothers spiritual growth." Scott M Peck
Lovingly,
Chase's aspiring student Tara
posted by The Coughlins at 5:13 PM
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