EVEN WHEN IT CAN BE FOUND AND DEFINED IN THE DICTIONARY
doesn’t mean that it can ever be fully
u n d e r s t o o d
MAMNOON
may be one of those words
|
THIS IS US. . .ALL OF US
Lots of people don’t watch TV|
Lots of people do. . .
Lots of people don’t watch
THIS IS US
Lots of people DO. . .
Some 4.97 Million watched this past Tuesday night
THE NEXT TO THE LAST SHOW
that had lots of
YOU-BETTER-GRAB-A-TOWEL
m o m e n t s
as we watched the matriarch, Rebecca Pearson
literally actively die in front of us
and what lots of hospice folks
COMPANION
(HOLD SPACE)
as a patient dies
and what they may be actually
(visioning)
feeling/seeing/sensing/experiencing
as they slip from this world
to the Great Whatever
lies beyond a last breath here
and a first breath
T H E R E
Nearly twenty-eight years of being a hospice chaplain has put me beside a lot of death beds of where I have companioned the dying and their loved ones. I applaud the writers and the actors for pulling back the curtain and giving us a fairly realistic look at what THAT moment looks like. . .a moment each one or us will experience, without all of the lights, cameras, action settings but in a more real, intimate, personal way because all of the evidence-based data shares the irrefutable:
ONE OUT OF ONE OF US DIES
And here’s where This Is Us Season 6, Episode 17 from this past Tuesday picks up. After a long battle with Alzheimer’s, Rebecca (Mandy Moore) passed, and the way her family told her goodbye was beautiful. Viewers were taken inside Rebecca’s psyche (literally) as she approached death. For her, this manifested in the form of a moving train. Rebecca was young on the train, and the passengers were people in her life, past and present. Meanwhile, in real life, as Rebecca’s family said their final goodbyes, they appeared on the train. And the person leading her through this experience (a.k.a the conductor on the train) was William (Ron Cephas Jones).
At the end of the episode, after the family members have said their last words to Rebecca, she reaches the train’s caboose. “This is quite sad, isn’t it?” she asks William. “The end?”
To this, William gives a beautiful, stunning speech to Rebecca. These are the last words she hears before going into the caboose (before she passes away). Read them in full, below:
“The way I see it, if something makes you sad when it ends, it must have been pretty wonderful when it was happening. Truth be told, I always felt it a bit lazy to just think of the world as sad, because so much of it is. Because everything ends. Everything dies. But if you step back, if you step back and look at the whole picture, if you’re brave enough to allow yourself the gift of a really wide perspective, if you do that, you’ll see that the end is not sad, Rebecca. It’s just the start of the next incredibly beautiful thing.”
With this, Rebecca hugs William and goes into the caboose, where a bed is waiting for. She lies down, and next to her is Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), reuniting the couple after decades of separation.
William’s speech epitomizes that moment—and it epitomizes This Is Us in general. If the show has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is forever. Any sadness or loss we saw the Pearsons experience in the present was always followed by a flash-forward, where we saw them happy, thriving, and doing just fine. Each storyline has shown us that no chapter is forever—the good ones end, and so do the bad ones. Life keeps moving, and we move with it. It’s a comforting message for anyone experiencing a hard time. Chapters always, always come to a close. The great poet Robert Frost once said, “ALL I KNOW ABOUT LIFE CAN BE SUMMED UP IN THREE WORDS: IT GOES ON!
It’s something Chris Sullivan (Toby) told NBC Insider when talking about the legacy of This Is Us. “From the first episode, they show you tragedy and pain, but they also shoot you into the future and show you, ‘Oh, this family’s OK,'” he said. “We jump back and forth and see, ‘Oh my gosh, this father died in a fire.’ Then, we jump forward and see, ‘Oh, this family’s OK.’ Tragedy and joy are held in both hands…Everything cycles around.”
Yes, it does. The series finale of This Is Us airs Tuesday, May 24 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
Hey. . .it’s just TV, right. . .
YUP. Yeah, it is. . .until it isn’t
THIS IS US
ALL OF US
“If something makes you sad when it ends, it must have been pretty wonderful when it was happening”… and with that, one last car. The caboose.
This Is Us
(Now about THAT towel)
R I P P L E
If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice come through the music?
Would you hold it near as it were your own?
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice come through the music?
Would you hold it near as it were your own?
It’s a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they’re better left unsung
I don’t know, don’t really care
Let there be songs to fill the air
Perhaps they’re better left unsung
I don’t know, don’t really care
Let there be songs to fill the air
Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow
Reach out your hand if your cup be empty
If your cup is full, may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men
If your cup is full, may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men
There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go, no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go, no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone
Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow
You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall, you fall alone
If you should stand, then who’s to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home
But if you fall, you fall alone
If you should stand, then who’s to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home
La da da da…
It’s hard to believe that the song
by Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead
is over 50 years old
and yet still causes
A RIPPLE
harder still to believe all of the
RIPPLES
that still lie within you to
C A U S E
uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. . .
WAIT NO LONGER
YOU JUST NEVER KNOW
EPIC
HISTORICAL
UNBELIEVEABLE
The adjectives could go on and on
and still not be able to sum up
exactly what happened last Saturday at the Kentucky Derby
The post has been going around and around on all
Social Media outlets:
I believe that God sent ‘this’ horse to run ‘this’ race to encourage us all to never give up…even if you think you can’t do it, even if people say you can’t do it and don’t believe in you! Never freaking give up! 😊🦄🙏
Wow, what an incredible race!!
Wow, what an incredible ride!!!
🏆 Rich Strike wins $1.86Million.
🏆 Entered the race yesterday 30 seconds before the deadline.
🏆 Only got in the race because the 20th horse had to scratch yesterday.
🏆 Started from the worst post position on the outside of the track.
🏆 Had to make his way through the field of 19 other horses from the back.
🏆 His race career; 7 starts, one win.
🏆 His jockey, Sonny Leon, had never been to the Kentucky Derby.
🏆 His trainer, Eric Reed, has never raced a horse in the Kentucky Derby.
🏆 Eric Reed tragically lost nearly two dozen race horses in a barn fire a few years ago and struggled with quitting.
🏆 Eric Reed lost his two assistant trainers last year to cancer.
🏆 Rich Strike was purchased in a claiming race last fall for only $30,000.
🏆 80-1 odds.
This horse had no idea he was a long shot. He had no idea that he was entered last minute, because another horse scratched. He had no idea that his trainer and jockey had never won the Kentucky Derby. So he ran…and WON! He even had enough left after a mile and a quarter to give hell to the pony horse! Congratulations to Rich Strike and all of his connections 🔥🦄🔥
Rich Strike wins the 148th Kentucky Derby!!
What an incredible success story!!!
Never give up on your dreams!!!
THE NUMBER ONE REASON WE FAIL:
OURSELVES. . .
YOU ARE ALREADY IN THE RACE
R U N
I T
W A L K
I T
D O
I T
You just never know what might happen. . .
EVEN THE UN-HAPPENABLE
HEAR WHAT ANOTHER HEARS
I have shared this video several times for various presentations I have given
I have shared this video on a Monday morning blog post before, too
I have to have its message KNOWN to me again and to be reminded just how much I need to HEAR WHAT ANOTHER HEAR’S. . .
“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each others’ eyes for an instant?” – Henry David Thoreau
Every day, every moment, is an opportunity to let go of what no longer serves us and let it die…
And to embrace what brings out the best in ourselves and others.
This video, “If We Could See Inside Each Others’ Hearts” is an opportunity to do that.
It is a profound look at life, in 4 minutes. This one will have you welling up with tears as the camera wanders and shows the inner lives of people around us as they do their daily tasks. Most of it is set in a hospital, where there is so much worry, sadness, some joy, bad news, good news, no news, anxiety, fear — just like our own lives. . .
Magnified
We’ve all been there. We’ve all experienced at least one of these people’s lives, and that’s what brings the message of this video so close to home.
We ALL have our stories. Others have theirs. But we never really know, we don’t fully connect, because most of us walk around keeping most of our thoughts and feelings to ourselves.
S T I L L
If we could see inside other peoples’ hearts, this is what we’d see. . .
Psssssssssssssssssssssst:
Look Again
(c l o s e r)
C L O U D E D
During this NATIONAL MONTH OF POETRY I have used poems that have inspired me to write poems. I began the month with a poem by Mary Oliver and could spend months using her poems that have countlessly inspired me not just to write but to pause, reflect, ponder what can’t always be seen, heard, tasted, smelled or touched but most deeply felt. . . here’s hoping it does the same for you in the NOWNESS of your TODAY:
It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.
— Mary Oliver
They are no longer clouds
but brightly striped ribbons
blown free from packages
never quite opened
or worse
opened and neatly tucked away
in drawers that don’t easily open
seemingly safe
from any robber
any loss
any misplacement
and sadly
any use
These ribbons don’t know of a wind
that’ll wave back
in the harshest or gentlest of breezes
no matter how much
mind
you pay them
They dwell in sunlight
and more of an ahhhhhhhh
to any sunset
if but noticed
But for a Now
This Moment
recognized
so briefly
like confetti
gone in a sudden burp of air
They are seen
as a Comma
in a Pause
that refuses to be left behind
before a never ending sentence
ahead
The Road To Happiness
Are you as happy as you want to be? Does everyone else’s life seem perfect? And yours…well, not so much? Many of us tie our happiness to external factors…or feel on the short-end of the stick when comparing our lives to those of other people. But, sometimes, appearances can be deceiving. In fact, freeing ourselves from perfection can be one of the keys to being happy with who we are.
T R U T H:
If you can’t find happiness inside yourself, you’ll never find it in the outside world, no matter where you move. Wherever you go, there you are. You take yourself with you. This is the essence of happiness—learning to find inner contentment in any situation.
T R U T H:
If you can’t find happiness inside yourself, you’ll never find it in the outside world, no matter where you move. Wherever you go, there you are. You take yourself with you. This is the essence of happiness—learning to find inner contentment in any situation.
H I N T:
If you truly want to find a little HAPPINESS
try just giving a smidgin’ of it
to Someone
ANYONE
and you’ll be amazed that the Ripple you begin
will come
Crashing back on your Shore, too. . .
If you truly want to find a little HAPPINESS
try just giving a smidgin’ of it
to Someone
ANYONE
and you’ll be amazed that the Ripple you begin
will come
Crashing back on your Shore, too. . .
HURRY SICKNESS
IT ALL BECOMES A BLUR SOMETIMES
. . .doesn’t it?
WE ARE RUNAWAY SENTENCES
not so much looking for an unimaginable
P E R I O D
so much as just a mere
SEMI-COLON
COMMA
that’ll give us just momentary pause and relieve us from
HURRY SICKNESS
with not even a second to spare
a deep breath to take or reset
Y E S
there’s a antidote for HURRY SICKNESS
that’s never waiting to be invented
only
I M P L E M E N T E D
Many of us suffer from “hurry sickness,” the feeling that we’re perpetually behind. And NO, we don’t need to have the holidays to intensify our anxiety. We’d like to pause, take a moment for ourselves, but who has the time, might be the wrong question to ask. . .WHO DOESN’T HAVE THE TIME?
We might not recognize our habit because we believe we’re simply being efficient, multi-tasking. But here are some signs that we might need to slow down:
- We often speed, whether through traffic, conversations, or meals.
- We often rush through work tasks and household chores, to the point we sometimes have to redo them.
- We often perform time calculations to see whether we can fit in another task.
- We’re irritable when we encounter delays, hyperaware that we’re “wasting time.”
- We constantly try to find ways to “save time.”
- We have trouble focusing on one thing because we’re always running through our to-do lists.
- We have trouble investing time in truly listening to others.
We experience physical problems related to stress.
THE CURE FOR HURRY SICKNESS. . . ?
Well, why not just start today (OR HOW ABOUT NOW) by allowing ourselves a 15-minute nap, relaxing walk, or enjoyment of a book? JUST fifteen minutes of doing nothing we have to do.
(My thanks to Crystal Rapole)
Go ahead. .
P A U S E
EVERY SEED
needs a little time to
B L O O M. . .
Musicians With Their INSTRUMENT
There’s no such thing as a
ONE-SONG MUSICIAN
or a
FOUR-PERSON-ENSEMBLE with just
One Instrument
until there is. . .
and then a most awesome discovery is made:
WE ARE ALL
WALKING/TALKING ORCHESTRA’S
with waiting to play together
on one single instrument
begging to be played
Just which one of your
K E Y S
makes the greatest note. . . ?
Always the ONE
which brings the sweetest harmony
that comes from
P L A Y I N G
t o g e t h e r
(continuously)
to Another
YOU
become the magnificent instrument
that becomes the
o r c h e s t r a
that creates the
s y m p h o n y
the hurtingWorld
needs to
hear
one
note
at
a
time
(for an ever)
W EAre all in the middle of Directing
The Symphony of our lives. . .
Don’t miss a Note
Direct
DIRECT
D I R E C T
THE POWER OF ONE
Throughout history, people have stood on two sides of a fence…
Either they have felt alone and powerless to change their future. They’ve felt that one person just can’t make a difference in the world.
They’ve asked the question, “What can I do?” and answered it with “Nothing. I’m just one.”
Then there’s the people who have believed in the “Power of One…”
People like Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus Christ, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and more.
These people have realized that one single person with a vision, purpose, and commitment can in fact start a movement and change the world.
These people asked the question, “What can I do?” and they answered it with actions, words, and the ability to inspire others to join their purpose and mission.
The hope is that this Caring Catalyst inspirational video, “The Power of One,” inspires you to always try and be in that second group of people.
You have the power of one.
You have the power to make a difference. . .
BUT WILL YOU?
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