I have been away from my blog for several days, and I have really missed it. I hope I have not lost any of my five or six readers during the downtime. In my defense, though, the last few days and weeks have been anything but uneventful, and I have to say that life as we (SO and I) know it has changed to the degree that it is almost unrecognizable. During this time I did not feel emotionally able to write. This writer's blahs was compounded by a minor but very painful back injury which made it difficult to sit and type. Only standing or lying down was bearable for several days. But I am back in the saddle now, with keyboard primed.
So, what has happened? As far as SO and I are concerned...A Lot! But these events are of a personal nature and I will not comment any further here as to the subject matter, but certainly changes have taken place, both negative and positive. SO and I are definitely in a new phase of life just now. We are adjusting to the changes and taken them in stride, enjoying one day at a time. I have to say that life POST FIFTY was certainly not what I thought it would be.
Taking things "one day at a time" is a sort of new concept for me, because I have always thought in terms of "and they lived happily ever after." The reality is that we only have NOW. I sometimes think we have one day at a time, but the truth is that we really do not have the full day guaranteed to us. For instance, last week while I was working at the local hospital, a man went to the smaller "West Campus" facility that is located in west Midland and has an emergency room. While this man was in the act of registration, he collapsed in cardiac arrest. He was transferred to the main hospital but efforts to save him were futile. In less than two hours, this man's life went from "I have this strange tightness and pain in my chest" to full cardiac arrest and, ultimately, death. He had gone to work as usual, returned home as usual, ate dinner with his wife as usual, then he began feeling like he had severe indigestion and tightness in his chest. He did not even live through the balance of the night. My friends, we are all in this same situation. No matter what the status of your health, no matter the greatness of your plans, life can be suddenly and most chaotically interrupted. Sometimes the changes are good, sometimes bad, and sometimes it is difficult to know which.
Events in our lives have brought SO and I to the sudden and dramatic realization that we truly can only live our lives NOW. Sure we can have goals, plans, and dreams, but we can no longer assume that we have "a lifetime" to accomplish these goals or realize these dreams. SO and I find ourselves living one day at a time. Maybe that is the mindset we should have had all along. Who can say? In any case, we now find ourselves living through each day as if it could be our last. We now find ourselves being what I like to call "mindful" and living in this state of "mindfulness." Yes, we are mindful that we only have the now in which we are living, but MINDFUL is more complicated, and more POSITIVE, than just acknowledging we only can be sure of NOW. Mindful also, and more importantly, means that we are aware of the good things we share each day, aware of the blessings we receive from the Creator each day, and aware of the beauty and wonder that we see in the ordinary that goes on around us each day. There is also the element of the unknown, the uncertain, of which we are also mindful. I find that I sometimes have negative feelings or fears about this new life, but I am also mindful that there is much more good, more positiveness, and more beauty than negative in life. This attitude has, in a sense, brought the Phoenix out of the ashes, and the Phoenix is thriving in its new life.
So it is that I return to these pages with a cleared head and a new mindfulness. I appreciate all of you who have read these pages over the past two years. I can't truly express the honor I feel in knowing that some of you are taking a part of your life and giving it to me. That is what you are doing when you read this blog. I feel great happiness and wonder when I see some of the locations where my blog is being read. Yes, there are some things still happening in our lives, some uncertainties to be resolved, issues that I never thought I would face, certainly not AFTER turning fifty. Life as SO and I knew it has ended, but a new life has already begun. Each day is now one full of wonder and mindfulness. That is how it should be for all of us. Wonderful days full of the mindfulness of the blessings we have, time spent with the people we love, and lived as fully as we possibly can. So I encourage you to continue to read my blog when you can, and I urge you to be mindful that you have only NOW guaranteed to you, so please live it to the fullest, as if it were your last day.
So, what has happened? As far as SO and I are concerned...A Lot! But these events are of a personal nature and I will not comment any further here as to the subject matter, but certainly changes have taken place, both negative and positive. SO and I are definitely in a new phase of life just now. We are adjusting to the changes and taken them in stride, enjoying one day at a time. I have to say that life POST FIFTY was certainly not what I thought it would be.
Taking things "one day at a time" is a sort of new concept for me, because I have always thought in terms of "and they lived happily ever after." The reality is that we only have NOW. I sometimes think we have one day at a time, but the truth is that we really do not have the full day guaranteed to us. For instance, last week while I was working at the local hospital, a man went to the smaller "West Campus" facility that is located in west Midland and has an emergency room. While this man was in the act of registration, he collapsed in cardiac arrest. He was transferred to the main hospital but efforts to save him were futile. In less than two hours, this man's life went from "I have this strange tightness and pain in my chest" to full cardiac arrest and, ultimately, death. He had gone to work as usual, returned home as usual, ate dinner with his wife as usual, then he began feeling like he had severe indigestion and tightness in his chest. He did not even live through the balance of the night. My friends, we are all in this same situation. No matter what the status of your health, no matter the greatness of your plans, life can be suddenly and most chaotically interrupted. Sometimes the changes are good, sometimes bad, and sometimes it is difficult to know which.
Events in our lives have brought SO and I to the sudden and dramatic realization that we truly can only live our lives NOW. Sure we can have goals, plans, and dreams, but we can no longer assume that we have "a lifetime" to accomplish these goals or realize these dreams. SO and I find ourselves living one day at a time. Maybe that is the mindset we should have had all along. Who can say? In any case, we now find ourselves living through each day as if it could be our last. We now find ourselves being what I like to call "mindful" and living in this state of "mindfulness." Yes, we are mindful that we only have the now in which we are living, but MINDFUL is more complicated, and more POSITIVE, than just acknowledging we only can be sure of NOW. Mindful also, and more importantly, means that we are aware of the good things we share each day, aware of the blessings we receive from the Creator each day, and aware of the beauty and wonder that we see in the ordinary that goes on around us each day. There is also the element of the unknown, the uncertain, of which we are also mindful. I find that I sometimes have negative feelings or fears about this new life, but I am also mindful that there is much more good, more positiveness, and more beauty than negative in life. This attitude has, in a sense, brought the Phoenix out of the ashes, and the Phoenix is thriving in its new life.
So it is that I return to these pages with a cleared head and a new mindfulness. I appreciate all of you who have read these pages over the past two years. I can't truly express the honor I feel in knowing that some of you are taking a part of your life and giving it to me. That is what you are doing when you read this blog. I feel great happiness and wonder when I see some of the locations where my blog is being read. Yes, there are some things still happening in our lives, some uncertainties to be resolved, issues that I never thought I would face, certainly not AFTER turning fifty. Life as SO and I knew it has ended, but a new life has already begun. Each day is now one full of wonder and mindfulness. That is how it should be for all of us. Wonderful days full of the mindfulness of the blessings we have, time spent with the people we love, and lived as fully as we possibly can. So I encourage you to continue to read my blog when you can, and I urge you to be mindful that you have only NOW guaranteed to you, so please live it to the fullest, as if it were your last day.
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