I saw a story this morning on CBS Sunday Morning about a young boy from Denton, born 17 weeks early, 9 years ago, who is now slowly going blind. His parents are trying to fulfill all his wishes as to what he would like to see before he totally loses his eyesight. Can you even imagine being not only Ben, as tragic as that is, but his parents, watching your son slowly lose his ability to see the blue sky, the sunset or sunrise, trees, flowers, rainbows, other children, animals, friends, yourself, just so many, many things, but most unfortunate, never to see you, his parents, and his siblings ever again?!
What really breaks my heart is that they showed him today, practicing being totally blind, walking with a stick, learning how to manuever his soon to be new world. And then it hit me. Ben (and his parents) are TOTALLY living in the present, making daily memories with precision like focus, because they KNOW that their time is limited, to be able to do this much longer. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all take a huge lesson from Ben and realize how important it is and how lucky we are, to be able to really, really SEE and experience our world, every little trivial thing, because we never THINK that there will come a time that we won't be able to. You don't need to go to Alaska to see the Aurora Borealis or to the Grand Canyon and everything else in between, as Ben's family has done. Just live your life with mindfulness- know what you're doing while you're doing it. Don't wait to look back at your life as an afterthought and think, "Why didn't I realize how good I had it at the time?" And don't wait until that dreaded diagnosis or other tragedy before you say (I hear this all too often), "This really helped me get my priorities straight." Do it now. Do it while you still can. Do it for Ben.
You've cried at weddings, right? At the birth of a baby? And, of course, you've probably cried at funerals, but have you ever stopped to wonder why both happy and sad events, make you so emotional? Even worse, do you often feel like you're the only one? I will impart wisdom gleaned from professional conferences, seminars, books and articles and/or I will blog my personal thoughts. Either way, I hope you check in often, so you know that your tears are never shed in a vacuum!
Sunday, November 2, 2014
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About Me
- Ms. Baby Boomer-dang
- Dallas, TX, United States
- I am an educator and consultant, in the field of loss and grief. I love educating others, as well as learning from them, about life's little and big, happy and sad losses: marriage, divorce, moving away, losing one's health, aging gracefully.....or not......death of a loved one, a pet, a dream, children growing up and parents having to let go, etc. etc. Hopefully, you get the picture. Let's laugh, cry and learn together!
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