TRIPPIN'

Take a look at the picture at the right of this posting. The picture was taken a number of years ago when we conducted a dry run of our fire evacuation plan. (The story of that day is worth an essay of its own.) When I look at this picture now, I am struck by the somber fact that nothing in this picture is with us today. Bud, Murphy, Cody, Mugs, Cooper, Dooley and our truck are all gone.

The indisputable fact is everything we love in this world will at some point in time be gone. Either we leave it, or it will leave us. That may sound a tad pessimistic, but being pessimistic is, unfortunately, often times being realistic. We, and everyone we love, will die, and most of us will encounter sickness along the way. Now, to show that sometimes being realistic can also be optimistic—everything we don't like at some point in time will also be gone.

Like it or not, we are all going to end up dead. So, the only thing we have any control over is the trip from here to there.

Our lives do not just include the “big trip,” but is also filled with hundreds of mini-trips along the way. Jean and I have just experienced an example of what I mean about controlling the trip. Recently Jean was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The operation to remove her kidney was scheduled four weeks from the diagnosis, with the pathologist report a week after that. Therefore the destination of the trip was in 5 weeks. We had no control over the destination (results), we only had control of the trip itself. For 5 weeks we could drive ourselves and everyone around us bat s**t crazy, or we could look at it as a bump (albeit a mega-bump) in life's road, and go with it.

We decided we wouldn't dampen our blissful present moments with potential future rain by letting what we didn't know negatively effect what we did know. We would talk about the cancer freely and openly, and if there was a joke to be had we went for it. (My semi-brother-in-Law said, “Jean is going to be OK—One Kidney.)

Jean's cancer turned out to be a rare cancer—a good rare cancer-- which grows very slowly and had not spread. With its host kidney gone, Jean should be good to go, (and when the kidneys are involved, going is good).

I realize enjoying the trip regardless of the destination is much easier said than done, but doable it is. The result is going to be what the result is going to be. I believe at some point, there is nothing we can do about it. I realize there are those who strongly disagree with what I just said. They are strong believers in positive thinking, meditation, and prayers, and they may be right, but I believe what is going to be will be, regardless of what we do.

Living one's life with positive thinking, meditation and prayer, I'm sure, will reduce the stress in his/her life. This reduction in stress will then reduce the probability of various illnesses, but once the bad guys are firmly wrapped around your internal organs, I believe they must play out their course.

I believe the benefits of positive thinking, meditation and prayers occur when we hear some “bad” news. The benefit is they keep us, and those who care for us, mentally busy during the trip, but I don't see them changing the outcome (and this from a reformed motivational speaker).

All during our memorable trip through life with Bud, Murphy, Cody, Mugs, Cooper, Dooley and our truck we knew, at some level, what the the destination would be. We humans have the unique ability to put the destination in some far corner of our minds only to be dusted off when the time comes. Until that time life gives us many opportunities to practice being mentally prepared for the “big destination” by helping us learn how to savor the trip to the “mini-destinations,” which are so much a part of our everyday lives.

As Garth Brooks sang, “I could have missed the pain, but I would have had to miss the dance.” Make no mistake, in life there will be pain so get thee to the closet and dust off your dancing shoes.