The Compost of Life

Yesterday I met up with an old friend who now owns a popular gym facility near my hometown. It was great to see him after 6 years. He is a practicing Buddhist, a philanthropist, and spent many years fundraising for various Non For Profit organizations. He always had a wonderful stories to tell, and I was excited about meeting with him again. When I walked into the gym he was involved in a doubles raquetball match. I watched him play and I thought, "Wow, he is 72 years young...and look at him go!!" He walked me around showing me his latest "baby", and I was impressed that he would take on this big responsibilty of running a business and having 30+ employees at this stage of his game. As we talked and laughed and met with others, I realized how incredibly youthful he was overall. His speech was sharp, his movements and balance were light and sharp, he was witty, his skin was essentially wrinkle free and smooth, and he had loads of energy. We sat face to face and caught up on each other's lives. He wanted to know all about my medical practice and how it had evolved from the time we last saw each other. I was only doing acupuncture, in addition to ER, at that time, and had not fully integrated at that point. I told him that my entire approach to medicine and life had changed. I grew up; I learned more; my personal struggles played a big part in my transformations. I had joys, pains, doubts, mistakes, successes, bad days, good days.....and they all shaped the woman and the doctor that I am now. He smiled...that very enlightened kinda smile. He called all those experiences, both good and bad, the compost of one's life. I LOVE THAT! The compost of life!! The shit, the refuse, the leftover food stuff that gets fertilized into our lives. You gotta love it! All of it is YOU!! Aaahhh these Buddhists are unbelievable! You guys remember Kung Fu? Well Grasshopper, this was like a Kung Fu moment! He talked about his meditative practice and how over the years he has also transformed. He was so serene in his speech, and it was at that point that I realized that his steady practice of meditation is what has kept this man looking and acting this young! So we talked a lot about meditation. I do meditate, but I call it prayer. He says you can call it whatever label you want. Of course, my meditation has a focus and a direction and it is guided by me. His meditation is just "being"...no direction, just in the moment, and guided by no one. That is hard to do for those of you who have never tried it. The mind is all over the place. I talked about how the hardest part of my job is cutting through all the energy levels that a patient presents with...cutting through all the "clacking" in their brain. Most people can't listen to me because of all the jibber jabber in their head. They can't let go of their own dialogue long enough to listen. They hear, but they cannot listen. So, my goal is to not get caught up their negative or chaotic energy, and to redirect them to a more grounded place. I have decided to go to the Buddhist center and give weekly group meditative sessions a try...AGAIN. I have also decided to find a really well -trained Mind/Body Therapist to add to my practice. It is so important in a wellness program. The body hurts because the mind hurts. The body knows how to heal, but the mind needs help with healing. The body never lies, but the mind always lies. Our bodies don't play tricks on us, but our minds do. Moral of the story: If you are fucked up in the head, the body doesn't stand a chance!! Lets all take the time to meditate daily. 10 minutes to find the peace and calm within. Your health depends upon it. Have a great week everyone. Smile...it will change your mood and outlook. Peace be with you. xxx Tina xxx