Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Bring Love To Every Moment
Each moment is so precious. From moment to moment there is no way to know what will happen next. Yesterday morning I received a call from my Mother that my Dad had suffered a heart attack. Mom told me not to panic, that he was going to be okay... but I did panic, as I imagined Dad forever changed and unable to hear the many words that my heart had been longing to say. I suppose I had been waiting for the 'right' time, waiting for things to feel more natural, waiting and waiting. Now this. What if I had missed my chance? It's amazing what raced through my head in a matter of seconds. Is he okay? Is he suffering? Will he die? I felt disbelief, terror, sadness, grief... clenching my stomach, stiffening my limbs. I went ice cold. My lips turned blue. I called a cab and left the cafe.
The drive to the hospital seemed to unfold in slow motion. Tears fell. I realized quite suddenly and with unbelieveable clarity how precious each moment is and how one never knows what will happen the next moment. What if this had been the end of our time together? Shock. My shaking hands spilled my peppermint tea into my lap. The streets looked distorted. Strangers walking, not knowing my dilemma, not seeing my disbelief, my fear. The entire world and everything in it seemed to stop and hang there, in a weird sort of stillness. Nothing ordinary mattered in the stillness; work, the weather, the book I had been reading, the customer I had been serving, nothing. Only my Dad.
Tonight Dad is resting. He is fortunate that we live in a country where ambulances arrive quickly, where doctors are ready to perform life saving operations, and where beds and caring people are available for those in need. He is lucky that Mom thought to phone the ambulance and he is blessed with a loving family who are praying for him and here to support him. I am blessed to have him as my Dad, and blessed to have more moments to let him know.
Today my message, then, is this: Bring Love To Every Moment. None of us know what is coming today, tomorrow, this minute, next hour. Love each other. Tell each other. Share each other. Support each other. How very fortunate we are to have each other and to have all the beautiful moments...
The drive to the hospital seemed to unfold in slow motion. Tears fell. I realized quite suddenly and with unbelieveable clarity how precious each moment is and how one never knows what will happen the next moment. What if this had been the end of our time together? Shock. My shaking hands spilled my peppermint tea into my lap. The streets looked distorted. Strangers walking, not knowing my dilemma, not seeing my disbelief, my fear. The entire world and everything in it seemed to stop and hang there, in a weird sort of stillness. Nothing ordinary mattered in the stillness; work, the weather, the book I had been reading, the customer I had been serving, nothing. Only my Dad.
Tonight Dad is resting. He is fortunate that we live in a country where ambulances arrive quickly, where doctors are ready to perform life saving operations, and where beds and caring people are available for those in need. He is lucky that Mom thought to phone the ambulance and he is blessed with a loving family who are praying for him and here to support him. I am blessed to have him as my Dad, and blessed to have more moments to let him know.
Today my message, then, is this: Bring Love To Every Moment. None of us know what is coming today, tomorrow, this minute, next hour. Love each other. Tell each other. Share each other. Support each other. How very fortunate we are to have each other and to have all the beautiful moments...
