STUMBLING SLOWLY TOWARDS BLISS

Another night is conquered and I am sitting here in the warmth and brightness of my sun room.  So glad that it is over.  I thought that it would never end, but somehow it did.  So just let me count my blessings and appreciate my life.

You could say that I work in an unreal world.  I see the best of people.  I see the worst of people.  It can be a very good time or it can be a very bad time.  It can be full of adrenaline pumping excitement or it can be a tedious grind.  Such is my life as a nurse.  Some days /nights are wonderful.   Everyone works in sync with each other.  We are like a fine orchestra, each with our parts to be played…different but equally important parts.

Of course, there are times when everyone is out of tune.  There is no harmony, no melody to be played.  There are just fractured segments.  Everyone pays.  Those are the times I like to forget.  But those can be valuable times of learning.  We can learn to rewrite our parts so that we can all hum along.  I fret over those times too much sometimes.  How can I change?  What can I do?

For all we talk about getting to know ourselves and each other and living the authentic life, it is a bit difficult.  It is a lot difficult.  Best to just focus on the moment and do the best I can.  So I am feeling rushed for time.  I am breathless looking at the shift before me.  The call bells are ringing.  I have to do this.  I have to do that.  Oh, my God, how can I possibly?!!

I paused and took a breath.  I deleted the pictures in my head.  I put one foot in front of the other, answered one call bell at a time, emptied one bedpan at a time, checked this, checked that, consulted and cooperated with my teammate….I did the best I could.  Sometimes my best came with a touch of grouchiness, but I still made some of my patients laugh.  They still thanked me.  They are generous.  The night passed.

And I AM  here. The words are falling from my fingertips.  I am feeling at ease with myself and the universe.  And the sun is streaming through the window.  Soon I will go to bed.  I am happy.

BROKEN YOLKS

I suppose by now everyone knows that life is hard.  Nothing is easy.  Nothing is free.  Nothing is perfect.  You can’t even count on perfect fried eggs every morning.  Sometimes a yolk will break.  It happens.  Life happens.  That’s the way it is.
And we really should appreciate what is, because that’s all we have.  Right at this moment, I get it.  I’m feeling the moment, the flow of it.  I’m savoring the sweetness of the now.  I know that this moment will evaporate soon enough and I will once again be restless with dissatisfaction and distress.  That is also how it is sometimes.  It is all right.  That is how I can change.

Change is really difficult….even in the direction of my daily walk with Sheba.  I always turn right at the end of our back alley.  When I make a conscious effort to go left, I feel the resistance in my body.  I feel discomfort.  I feel torture.  I feel PAIN!  Weird, huh?  I am such a creature of habit.

Today, I tidied up one shelf in the closet.  I found three pairs of pants bought some years ago.  Bought but never shortened nor worn.   One still had tags on it.   I’ve almost shortened two.  I will have a nice pair to wear to see David Suzuki tomorrow night.  Change can happen.  I have changed…a little at a time.