mind
The timing was right. Arrival at the kiosk adjacent to the MRI rooms gave enough time to complete the patient surveys and sit for less than a minute before being called to an office also serving as a dressing room. Instructions to remove all items from my pocket were useless since my pants had to be removed for the procedure. Personal items secured and paper shorts adorned, I was led to the waiting white machine with the giant white wheel into which I would be inserted. Given earplugs to protect my drums from damage and a pillow under my knees, a warm blanket was placed over my torso and hand holding the emergency call device. I was told to relax as the procedure would take about twenty minutes. Slowly I was transported on the moving table into the waiting white cylinder where buzzing, popping and ultimately what sounded like battling gunshots consumed the space. Never having experienced claustrophobia my mind wandered to what it must be like; what must be the precipitating thought or experience that leads to the fear that must consume in that space. Not wanting to create my own experience, my thoughts wandered to the magnificence of the technology that created the device into which I was inserted. Again, buzzing, popping, and rapid firing erupted to consume the space. I heard a faint voice calling my name and stating that the procedure was over. The blanket was removed as the call button was retrieved and the earplugs deposited into the waiting hand of a technician. Upon standing, I suddenly understood the yellow wrist band stating “Falling risk.” As I placed my watch back on my wrist I observed the time indicating the entire procedure had taken less than 45 minutes to complete. Fraught with thankfulness that the procedure was available and that it had been so very easy to navigate, my drive home was filled with uplifting thoughts of gratitude. A grateful mind has little room for angst and displeasure. May your mind be filled with gratitude this day!
The air is crisp and the sun is rising as the dew reflects the light’s embrace. Lettuce leaves stand erect, full of moisture and snap easily at the twist of my nimble fingers. Blackberry, the rabbit is about to be served his morning feast of freshly harvested greens, satiating his quest for daily sustenance. Green tomatoes weigh down the already drooping plants as the last crop of summer hastens its journey to harvest before the first frost of fall. As Gracie, the Golden Retriever pup races through the now grass flooded pathways between the garden beds, I’m reminded that my lack of weeding this summer has rendered a crop of grass as robust as the vegetables so lovingly planted and nurtured. The grass knows not that it is not welcomed. It was there long before the well crafted square foot garden. Nonetheless, its unwelcomed presence must be attended in anticipation of next spring’s bounty, so the task for this weekend is etched in the mind’s agenda. The weeds and grass must be diminished lest they overtake the well planned crop. I can’t help but recognize the uncanny symbolism between the weeds and the crop in the garden and the challenges I find in life. If I don’t stay ahead of the “weeding” game of exercise of body, mind, and soul, the “weeds” of stiffness, melancholy and self-absorption creep in to overtake the crop of ongoing agility, thankfulness, and care for the well being of others. Weeding done, I find comfort in the presence of myself, my maker, and others. My “weeding” requires attention and I am grateful that each day presents the opportunity to reflect on “how did your garden grow?”