Thursday, April 23, 2009

We Can Work It Out...the Beatles

As part of a series of messages given by Richard Maraj, our minister at Unity of Phoenix,"We Can Work It Out" was the topic on Sunday. I loved this study on an old favorite song... and it got me to thinking about the present, the past, and the future.


Yes, we CAN work it out, but it is not always in the way we would choose.
We can set our sights on what we want to avoid...and what we feel we much have..

When we have Alzheimer's in the family and see our parent slipping away from the person we knew them to be, it's hard to see the good in that. And I have to admit, it's been difficult for me. Alzheimer's support is important for anyone whose parent is diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

What I have experienced the last four years is a review of my life with my mom - the good, the bad, and the "ugly" as they say...

I've thought about things I wasn't all that happy about with our relationship and have been able to let them go... I see Mom now in a very different way...not in the mom role anymore....and it allows me to accept her as just a human being. All that I experienced with her was just my mom doing the best that she could with what she knew at the time and with her own life experiences.

And what I really love is the rich appreciation I'm feeling for all that has been amazing about my Mom. Remembering how she was so up on what was going on...
Seeing myself back at those great holiday celebrations that we always had...special birthday parties, festive Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

Mom always created wonderful food and a beautiful home....

It's given me a rich, positive position about my childhood.

Often we affirm the negative, project the worst, and narrow our focus to fear...
"If this doesn't happen...I'll never be happy again!"

We can not control what results may happen in our life.
Sometimes what comes about is better than we ever expected...
And sometimes we see things happening that seem so wrong and later turn out to have a very positive result.

What we do have the power to do is create our own inner environment.

Unlike indigenous plants that can thrive only in their native environment, we are instead endogenous...meaning that we grow from within and can thrive anywhere.
When we remember that, it's easier to move forward and see the positive around us.

As the Beatles sang it all so wisely:

Life is very short and there's no time for fussy and fighting....

Take time to be grateful...
Take time to receive...
Take time to love...

1 comment:

Donahue Vanderhider said...

I like what you are doing for families with Alzheimer's. Wondering if I can help? I have a site that focuses on caregivers (primarily adult children) and provides information and stress management www.caregiverrelief.com. But not just to sell them stuff, but to educate on services, programs and products that can help them. So if you find merit in it, please let me know, perhaps we can collaborate.