Sunday June 19, 2011

Hello friends,

I don't know if don't know if have ever taken as much joy in my life as I have over the last few months. I was able to attend an open house celebration for my adopted niece who graduated from high school. Congratulations Alajia. The world is yours for the taking if you just believe that it is and go after your dreams.

It is so amazing to take part in such a special occasion. How joyous to be able to witness such optimism and innocence. The amazing power of possibility and potential was overwhelming. As I think about it now in my quiet time, I think back on my own graduation and my perspective on life then. How open the entire world seemed. How anything was possible. While sitting through that horribly boring graduation ceremony way back when, I never envisioned this life, but I am so happy with where I am. Most of you know that I am a social worker and I love it, but this is never what I intended to do with my life. To be honest, when I graduated from high school, I doubt I even knew what a social worker was. In retrospect I believe that this was the beginning of a powerful influence on my life that has guided my path.

I listened to your advice and I have been working on trying to maybe turn all of these random thoughts into a manuscript. I decided that I need to explore how I arrived at this point in my life. In retrospect, I am amazed at all of the seemingly unrelated events and experiences that have actually prepared me for this chapter of my life. At how much of my life seems to have been guided to this place. I know that it is easy to draw connections when you become aware of the final outcome. When something enters your active consciousness, it seems to stand out like a sore thumb. Kind of like when you get a new car and all of a sudden start to see that same make/model everywhere. It isn’t that suddenly everyone has decided to drive the same car as you, it’s just that your mind recognizes and acknowledges their existence. Think about the last time you were driving. I dare you try to visualize the make/ model/ color of 5 cars that you saw. We all go through life looking, but not seeing. Of course, this is for good reason. Imagine how difficult it would be to be consciously aware of every single thing that you saw or hear during a day. We have to be able to filter how we experience the world. Our brains might melt otherwise.

I think this skill is a blessing and a curse. It can become easy to overlook some of the important message and clues that life provides to us. A few years ago I came across an excerpt titled The Ten Rules for Being Human from a book by Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott called "If Life is a Game, These are the Rules". While I often forget to play by the rules I often think of them when the failure to do so has negative consequences. So I thought they might be worth reviewing again.

The Ten Rules For Being Human

Rule One - You will receive a body.
You may love it or hate it, but it will be yours for the duration of your life on Earth.

Rule Two - You will be presented with lessons.
You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called "life". Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.

Rule Three - There are no mistakes, only lessons.
Growth is a process of experimentation, a series of trials, errors and occasional victories. The failed experiments are as much as a part of the process as the experiments that work.

Rule Four - The lesson is repeated until learned.
Lessons will be repeated to you in various forms until you have learned them. When you have learned them, you can go on to the next lesson.

Rule Five - Learning does not end.
There is no part of life that does not contain lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

Rule Six - "There" is no better than "here".
When your "there" has become "here" you will simply obtain another "there" that will look better to you than your present "here".

Rule Seven - Others are only mirrors of you.
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.

Rule Eight - What you make of your life is up to you.
You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you.

Rule Nine - Your answers lie inside of you.
All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

Rule Ten - You will forget all this at birth.
You can remember it if you want by unraveling the double helix of inner-knowing.

So while graduations mark certain milestones, the lessons never end. I am working to approach my life with that same optimism that I had when I was 18. This time around, finally understanding that the only limit to my potential is my ability to believe in my own ability. I hope you are able to do the same.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot that this is a medical blog! LOL! I am doing well physically. Being out in the heat yesterday really drained me. I have spent today resting. I am trying to listen to my body. But, it was really hard. I wanted to go to my friends’ for a cookout today, but I know that if I pushed on and ignored what I was feeling, I would pay for it later. I have a busy week ahead so, I have to be responsible. I understand that I cannot do everything. I just have focus on making the things that I am able to do count. Life is short so thanks sharing some of it with me. Talk to you soon.