God’s great gift

Think about it. Life has its own built-in mysteries: the day you are born and the day you will die. Who knows when those dates are? Some babies are born prematurely; others are born late. You have no control over those dates. God makes them happen. Sometimes they live a long time; other times you die in an instant. Some have wonderful lives; others have very tragic times. Still others have ups and downs in different patterns. Who controls all that? Not you, not your doctor, not all the pills in the world. Only God.

When I had my stroke I looked perfectly normal. I walked funny but I could walk. I could also talk. But there was something cloudy in my brain, like between me and the real world there was a thick bank of clouds. I guess that meant that my brain wasn’t functioning normally. And time, while it was ticking by normally, didn’t feel like it was flying over me. It was just passing slowly by. My awareness of time was sort of erased, put on hold, while I was slowly recovering.

As I got better, as the initial depression — yes, initially I was depressed — lifted, I began to think about time. It passed normally but I began to become aware of its passage. Another day gone by. thank you, God. Every morning when I awaken, another day is here. I am still alive. Thank you, God. All this time is given to me and I must be grateful.

No amount of chemicals or drugs will change the time given to us. You will die when it is your time to go. Many people are afraid of death. They don’t want to talk about it. I am not afraid of death. I see it as a rite of passage. I remember one of my conversations with my father’s last remaining sister. She was still alive then and was enchanted with helping people die. “They see a beautiful place,” she said, “it beckons to them and all I do is help them go there.” That statement gripped me.

I wish I knew what the beautiful place is. Is it on another planet? How do we know, right? It is possible that we die in this life to be born on another planet? Or maybe we die to go to a huge laundry room in the sky where we ruminate on our lives then wash our souls. When they are pure white, we hang them up to dry, then configure our next lives. Or maybe we just sit and watch our souls waving in the wind. Who knows for sure? Nobody knows what the next life will be but I am curious and excited. I can’t wait to hug the relatives and friends who have gone before me. I can’t wait to meet my real father at last and to hug him as tightly as I can in my new form. I know somehow I will be happy there.

I consider myself lucky. When I had my stroke, I knew I had a Gonzalez heart. Those hearts are generally weak. You hit 60 and you can go any time. That is a family tradition. My mother’s family is the opposite. They have strong hearts. They all die late in life and they go because of cancer or some other lingering disease.

Because I believe that I do not control the time allocated to me, I become aware of it and handle it well. I cherish it, treasure every day that God gives me. It is His most precious gift. At the same time, I try to look forward to death. It’s the brand new beginning of another life. If you have the courage to love your life and look forward to your next one, then you will have no more fears about death, how to take care of your body, follow your doctor’s advice, take all those drugs.

Relax. Listen to what your body tells you. Listen to what God tries to tell you. Thank Him for the time He gives you to live and live it happily and well. Think about it.

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Think about this, too. All the women out there who are looking for something more, the next Basic Jung Seminar for women begins next month. This is a two-part seminar that begins on Feb. 7 and 8 and continues through Feb. 14 and 15. It covers Valentine’s Day! Good. Then that occasion will be joyous this year. This seminar is most enjoyable and magical. Just call 0916-3023763 or 0917-5276279 to make reservations or to get more information.

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Send your comments to secondwind.barbara@gmail.com or lilypad@skyinet.net or text 0917-815570.