My Aha! Moment
It happened about one hour ago. I was walking my patient down the hall--still intubated, and slowly I pushed the ICU bed with the RN toward PACU. I was squeezing the ambu bag to ventilate the patient like I have done for the past twenty years...
And it hit me!
There was BEAUTY in the scene I took for granted every single day I worked there!
This was a REAL O.R.!
Everything was in its place, just as it's supposed to be. It looked 'lived in', our long hallway with all the rooms where the operations take place.
I was calm. I was not sleepy. I was content. So was my patient. So was my nurse.
I had been at work for fifteen hours, not slept well the night before, had a first case cancel--the patient 'ate a big breakfast because after surgery you will not eat a long time, someone told them'...there was NO reason for me to see the beauty but I did.
In fact it was like a MOVIE scene swirling to me...and I was IN the MOVIE!!!
(here is a link to what was written about recognizing beauty in the Creator Writings today: https://thecreatorwritings.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/recognizing-beauty/)
I'm Living In A POSTCARD!
I went to college in Berkeley, California, home of the Golden Bears. What most people don't know, unless you go there, is that the Berkeley campus lines up with the Golden Gate for a perfect side view. Sometimes when I would be walking on the campus near the physics buildings in Le Conte hall, right at the foot of the Campanile, there were some stairs. Sometimes I would just sit on those stairs and enjoy the fabulous view, and think to myself, 'I am LIVING in a POSTCARD!'...
The thought was that some people come here to see this view, and only can buy postcards of it, but I LIVE here now, and get to see it any time I want!
When I had graduated, and was married, and living on Francisco Street in North Side...my apartment was 1921 Francisco Street Apartment 7A...lol...92704 zip! lol lol...my marriage was falling apart. There was a chair up at the top of the stairs on the roof. That was my 'safe place'. I would go there when the tension in our home was really high. I would go up in barely a jacket, shivering, and I was delighted to watch the fog rolling in. If you've never been up high enough to watch the billowing fog enter the San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate, it's a must-see. I spent many a day and night catching a few moments of peace...until I left for medical school in San Diego. It's beautiful at night, with all the light. And also is the sunset.
My view, the 'Berkeley view', shows both posts/supports and the entire Golden Gate from a side view. I looked through hundreds of photos, and this was the closest I could duplicate it.
(here is a map of the area if you are interested...http://www.berkeley.edu/map --FYI)
Wabi Sabi
This is an old Japanese bench. In Japan, there is a term for living with an appreciation for things loved and often used, 'Wabi Sabi'. The home is not cluttered, but only the most favorite and useful items are given a place of enjoyment and honor in the home. This bench in the garden is one example.
Another would be a chair that has been in the family for generations...or a special vase used in ikebana flower arrangement...
Here in America, old things are considered 'dirty', and there is much emphasis in retail and home improvement to have 'the latest'.
In Japan in 'Wabi Sabi' circles it is not the same.
Tonight, I SAW the Wabi Sabi in my home, and started appreciating it...THIS is the microwave that is heating my dinner and has heated many a meal for us in our day...(I have a Love and Gratitude post-in on there to neutralize the microwave energy harmful effects, thanks to Masaru Emoto) I saw the happy memories in my recliner where I rocked Anthony, in our kitchen--I remembered the day I first saw it when I toured the house before buying it, and I loved it! All my artwork, my photos, my belongings speak of LOVE.
My family is LOVE.
All humanity is LOVE.
I think I am getting the hang of this!
Colbie Callat has been one of my favorite singers for a long time; this is my favorite song of hers, ever. It moves me deeply just to hear it. And this is the first time I've seen the video. It gives me tears of joy for the message of empowerment she gives.
Those Who Do Not Have Our Best Interest At Heart
Have you ever worn braces? The orthodontist puts them on. Then they get tightened every now and then. You don't think about it much. Sometimes it's a little more painful than others. But except for brushing your teeth more often, and avoiding certain foods, you basically forget about them, and one day they are off and you have both a retainer and a beautiful smile.
Your orthodontist knew EXACTLY what was going on with your teeth, every step of the way. You had no perception of the teeth moving around in your head--but your doctor DID.
Furthermore, your orthodontist had been taught how to do this art, by people who have done it before them...
Today for the first time, I saw the deliberate and SLOW! masterminding scheme that resulted in today's very low self-esteem for our teenage girls...
Our pioneer women were strong. They kept the home fires burning, cooking and cleaning and sewing. Like on Little House on the Prairie, those with no mother had a very hard life. Men often remarried because it was too much work to run a household alone with the kids...
Our pioneer women were physically, mentally, and spiritual powerhouses!
Then the fashions came. And everyone wanted to follow them.
Then the 'labor saving devices' which took away the contribution of women to the life at home ever so little at a time, decade by decade...until the women of the 1950's were total slaves to their houses. 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness' and they were using all kinds of harsh chemicals to clean them.
Little girls in the 1960's took one hard look at the jobs available for women (nurse and teacher and secretary) and thought, 'Is this all there is? Is this why God made me?'--and wanted to RUN the other direction!
But Women's Lib came, and gave women 'the RIGHT' to work outside the home, and possibly, never even have children.
So another generation of 'Pioneer Women' entered the work force and basically had to 'act like men'.
Now in this wondrous age of 'equality'--women pay someone else to raise their children for them. Sometimes their entire PAYCHECK goes for childcare...in a married family.
And women do the 'second shift'--coming home to catch up on everything in the home and family--using their smart phones like crazy to coordinate the child care and the schedules...
They got more work out of the women. For less pay.
They got the family unit weak.
The gifts of the mother's heart are hidden behind the 'busy schedule'
Women are working themselves to death! And NOT enjoying life!
My mother said it all went downhill once men were allowed into the delivery room. She says what used to be a 'mystery' now has the men thinking they can wear a baseball cap, say 'push' and do equal work to the women in bringing a baby into the world!
Mother speaks her mind, and from her heart. She may be on to something there--although I have seen fathers weep with joy in the delivery room, and I know it's the right thing for the fathers to be present at their child's birth...
Watch the video.
Release the shackles.
Allow Gaia's love to strengthen you and support you.
You are FREE...
Ross
One day, when Carla was eighteen and in college, she woke up in the dead of night with Tom, and his brother and sister, and went to a place called Fort Baker. From there, the sun came up over the East Bay, and there was a fabulous view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Carla was filled with excitement at the beauty and the privilege of watching a new day dawn over the entire Bay Area...
It lives in her heart, this memory, and it is one not anything can take away.
It was cold. There was dew everywhere. She was soaking wet in her feet.
And Carla would not have traded one minute of the experience for the comforts of home!
In this, there was ADVENTURE! The thrill of something special, something beautiful, and NEW.
It isn't 'Wabi Sabi' that I'm speaking about here!
The old 3D is GONE!
The old 3D is GONE at once! Forever! We are only in the ashes, the vestiges of 'what was'...and now we are on the verge of 'what will become of this BRIGHT BEAUTIFUL NEW ERA!'...
I do not mean to 'shout' by all the capital letters, but as you can tell, I am honestly excited about the whole prospect of what is before us...
Today, Carla had the thought, 'wow! I am here to carry on the work of my husband! someone has to do it--I guess it might as well be me...or was is 'our work' in the first place? Either way...I guess it is a good thing...'
What work are YOU here to do?
What is your mission?
Very few answered about the Treasure Chest! Here I give you hints on your Life Mission, and nobody takes it! (he sounds very much like a Jewish guilt-trip here just to be silly and poke fun...in a light-hearted way...Rodney Dangerfield perhaps?--ed)
(he giggles...I think he has a really great surprise for us all!)
Aloha and Mahalos,
Namaste,
Peace,
Ross and Carla
The Reiki Doc family