Life — Page 59

I H O P E

April 18, 2016 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

What’s Your’s?

When you’re flipping through your remote with wild abandon,

what’s the Movie (s) that makes you stop your f l i p p i n g ?

Little Miss Sunshine

Rocky (any of them)

St. Vincent

Simon Birch

While You Were Sleeping

The Christmas Story

It’s A Wonderful Life

The Mighty

Begin Again

The African Queen

Billy Madison

Happy Gilmore

The Bucket List

The Tin Cup

As Good As It Gets

The God Father (Any of them)

For The Love of the Game

Dances with Wolves

Die Hard (Any of Them)

Blended

Shawshank Redemption

(or anything with Morgan Freeman’s voice)

What’s Y o u r s ?

I love this last scene

Maybe it’s the words:

“GET BUSY LIVING OR GET BUSY DYING”

Maybe it’s

H O P E

“I hope I can make it across the border. . .

I hope I can see my friend and shake his hand. . .

I hope the Pacific is as blue as it is in my dreams. . .

h o p e “

Y O U ?

What not only makes you

p a u s e

but put down your soul’s remote

and

h o p e ?

Y e a h. . .

what’s your

h o p e

your evidence of things NOT YET S E E N. . . ?

Is it getting you busy to

l i v e

d i e

P O N D E R I N G S

March 21, 2016 By ChuckBehrens 2 Comments

Are you an

U N R E C O G N I Z E D

C A R I N G C A T A L Y S T ?

Are you finding yourself

l i t e r a l l y

dying for

S o m e T h i n g s

instead of

Living for

S o m e O t h e r s ?

Want some fantastically good news?

You are genuinely just

O N E

K i n d n e s s

O N E

C o m p a s s i o n a t e

O N E

C a r i n g

act

a w a y

from forever becoming

i m m o r t a l . . .

B E

The Ripple

that causes

countless others in many more. . .

Lap up on other’s shores

and change it forever – – –

it’s the only thing

that not only matters,

but

l a s t s

for

e v e r !

Don’t be

the one

who fails to recognize

what you notice.

P O N D E R I N G S,

for a Ba-Zillion, Alex.

Medicinals

February 26, 2016 By ChuckBehrens 4 Comments

The greatest events that take place in our lives. . .

sometimes take place without ever being on the calendar.

I was scheduled to speak at an event a week ago to a group of Nurses, Social Workers, Case Managers, and Administrators at an area hospital and when I arrived I showed up at the wrong place.

I was standing just outside of the reception area, calling my contact person and

I T H A P P E N E D . . .

The UN-Calendared E V E N T:

An elderly lady and her granddaughter walked out of the swooshing hospital doors and one cue when they hit the cold air of the late morning she burst into a loud, uncontrollable wail of deep woe:

“I can’t, can’t, can’t believe what I just heard. The Dr, the Dr, he just told me that I have, that I have can-can-can-cancer! Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God, Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh God. . . .”

The phone was still ringing and I had my back partially to them.

Before I could respond

Before I could hang up the ringing phone from the other end

Before I could offer any consolation or comfort

B E F O R E

. . .the granddaughter did the most

pure

simplest

kind

loving

compassionate

caring

a m a z i n g

a c t:

She held her grandmother,

hugged her. . .

let her cry. . .

and then said,

“Grandma, I know he just said the worst thing we should ever have to hear but he doesn’t know us, he doesn’t know how well we all fight together with each other, he doesn’t know how strong our family is and how we don’t ever do anything alone. . .I’m here, I’m here, I’m here,”

. . .she whispered to her grandmother over and over again as she held, gently rocked her like I could only imagine she was once rocked by her when she fell or was afraid or had her feelings hurt or. . .

O B L I V O U S

that I was standing just a few feet away

that a crash cart was just on the other side of the swooshing doors

that several nurses and one doctor were talking at the receptionists desk

t h a t

anything else or anyone were available or necessary.

In a simple, significantly powerfully way

I witnessed

what I know

what I know I know

what I’d bet my life I know

but for the life of me

I don’t always a c t l i k e I k n o w

t h a t

medicine

interventions

therapies

treatments

blind studies

experimental aids

placebos

d o n o t h e a l u s

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

heal us.

Are you a Caring Catalyst?

Do you want to be?

You may be just a mere

h u g

a g e n t l e t o u c h

a h e l d h a n d

away.

t h a t

hug

gentle touch

an open and willing holding hand

Your words will never tell what your actions always will. . .

The greatest things in our lives sometimes take place without ever being c a l e n d a r e d

Are you Ready?

CLEAN SLATED

February 22, 2016 By ChuckBehrens 2 Comments

https://youtu.be/R45HcYA8uRA

Forgive me. . .

I’ve got

R E G R E T S

and u n l i k e

Frank Sinatra’s MY WAY. . .

They are way too m a n y to Mention

I, on purpose, D I D N O T post this on

New Year’s Day

Because that’s always a Universal

C L E A N S L A T E D A Y

B U T

The most needed C L E A N S L A T E D A Y

IS TODAY

or whenever the REGRET weighs the heaviest.

. . .or turns the r e a r v i e w m i r r o r into a w i n d s h i e l d

Psssssssst of the Day:

THE PROBLEM ISN’T THAT WE DON’T HAVE AN ERASER. . .

IT’S THAT WE DON’T USE IT !

Every day is a CLEAN SLATE

. . .DO THE THINGS YOU REGRET

N O T d o i n g

o f t e n

It may be tough living with your regrets. . .

but not as rough as n o t having the opportunity to make a few more in your life

or harder still. . .

g e t t i n g c l e a n s l a t e d

all over again

because our only p e r f e c t i o n s

are our i m p e r f e c t i o n s . . . .

Two Buck Chuck

January 15, 2016 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Well. . .

Now you know. . .

Now you know that I didn’t win the 1.6Billion-dollar PowerBall

and I’m fairly sure that no one who happens to have split those winnings three ways, is reading this either.

Now you know. . .

maybe what you know,

know that you know,

and bet your life that you know. . .

but for the life of you don’t act like you know

or. . .even recognize.

I didn’t fully

until this morning when I, like millions of others, found out that what

W I N N E R S

we really are.

I found out that the odds of winning were about 1 in 292 million, which we are told are to be worse odds of being mauled by a bear and being attacked by a shark and marrying a supermodel–

A L L C O M B I N E D.

You know what my Two-Bucks bought me?

H O P E :

If you think about it–for two-bucks it’s a great deal, no matter what the odds. I mean, come on, for just two-bucks, I bought a chance for 1.6 Billion dollars. That’s a pretty great deal, isn’t it? H O P E ! It took no skill, no special prayers, I was on equal ground with everyone else without nothing to do or with anyone to compete.

Two-bucks bought me

P E R S P E C T I V E:

The simple experience of playing and actually l o s i n g was worth it. This two-bucks lasted longer than an amusement ride or a movie or a Broadway show; this p e r s p e c t i v e lasted for days as we dreamed about how we’d help people and actually change their lives; make dreams that have never been dreamt, come true. It allowed for friendships and camaraderie and love as I joined other groups at church, at work, in the neighborhood in buying tickets together; we even commiserated about how it just wasn’t in the cards for us to win, and like everyone else who bellied up to that PowerBall Bar, took the chance, anyhow–all that for being Two-Buck-Chuck.

You know what my Two-Bucks really bought me?

I had an awesome conversation with my son last weekend, one of so many other fantastic talks; I found out at in a matter of less than a week we were going to be grandparents to one of our daughters, first daughter, another daughter’s second expected baby, and another daughter’s engagement to be married; I am going to be celebrating thirty fast years of marriage to a woman who said y e s when the whole world and mostly myself was screaming, N O; I’ve served four amazing churches in the past 36 years; companioned hundreds of terminally ill patients; supported their families; conducted hundreds of weddings and thousands of funerals; been befriended by people that can’t be created or imagined by Hollywood’s greatest writers. . .what’s the price tag on all of that? Two bucks? 1.6 Billion?

Hmmmmmmmmmm of the DAY:

A L L O F T H I S F O R

t w o b u c k s. . . .

Two-Buck-Chuck figures the odds of winning some 1.6 Billion dollars don’t stack up to the best two bucks I’ve spent countless times over–especially just right now–that’s gotten me to the point of where

I know. . .

I know that I know. . .

I bet my Life that I know. . .

what for the rest of my life I intend to act

LIKE I KNOW

(what’s really precious and priceless)

Y O U ?

It’s great being
W I N N E R S

Two-Buck-Chuck realizes t h a t

(as do I now hope you do, too)

A Never Ending Wave

January 11, 2016 By ChuckBehrens 2 Comments

Q U E S T I O N O F A L I F E T I M E :

Is it easier to to

S T A R T

a R i p p l e

or to

S T O P

a R i p p l e ?

Psssssssst:

The only true way to answer the question is by

H O W Y O U L I V E !

. . . w e l l

H O W

L I V E

Y O U ?

Are you making a

S P L A S H

D A M M I N G

the Flow. . . ?

If you’re not soaking

you’re dry rotting.

NEVER

LET

KINDNESS

END

WITH

YOU. . .

Here’s to making your next kind act, your greatest

y e t

but

not

your best to come. . . .

Is it easier to start a ripple or stop a wave?

How Live You ?

It’s In Every ONE of Us. . . .

November 2, 2015 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

I first saw this video well over 20 years ago

at all places. . .

A Humor Conference.

I love when I have shown this to children–

they laugh–a lot !

I use to show this video with new Volunteers or Spiritual Care Volunteers with Hospice.

I would always ask this question as soon as it was over:

W H A T ?

WHAT’S IN EVERY ONE OF US ?

Pain

Un-met expectations

Hurt

Disappointment

Suffering

Expectations

Hopes

Joys

Love

Fear

Faith

Doubt

Happiness

Sadness. . .

I mean the list really is endless and it’s all with the same message, isn’t it?

IT’S IN EVERY ONE OF US. . .

it’s the one universal assurance–given–in our lives

ANY LIFE !

My favorite part of the video is near the end where it illustrates THAT point the best

when one face morphs into the next face into the next face into the next face. . . .

There’s so much in this World that separates us

. . .so much

that really doesn’t

What. . .what do you notice. . .recognize

the m o s t ?

Psssssst: Rub your eyes. . .rub them again. . .

do more than look–

S E E

celebrate

live

what’s

In Every One Of Us

and never experience it any other way.

A Living

September 2, 2015 By ChuckBehrens 1 Comment

A LIVING

Now, that’s the Hmmmmmmmm of the Day, isn’t it:

A LIVING

Just what is. . .

A LIVING

There are some that say, you don’t really know

A LIVING

until DYING

Oliver Sacks, died this past weekend. . .

he knew THAT was going to happen. . .I suppose we all do, because none of us have ever met anyone who’s ever lived for ever and the chances of us…any of us…being the first are severely unlikely.

Oliver knew a little bit more specifically that he was going to die. He had cancer. He had multiple metastases in his liver. Nearly 10 years ago he had a rare tumor of the eye, an ocular melanoma. He knew then that about 50% of those with ocular melanomas actually metastasize. . .he was of THAT 50%

Early this year, Oliver. like he so often did, wrote about this situation in the New York Times under the Title of:

“MY OWN LIFE

May I?

. . .”I have been increasingly conscious, for the last 10 years or so, of deaths among my contemporaries. My generation is on the way out, and each death I have felt as an abruption, a tearing away of part of myself. There will be no one like us when we are gone, but then there is no one like anyone else, ever. When people die, they cannot be replaced. They leave holes that cannot be filled, for it is the fate–the genetic and neural fate–of every human being to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to die his own death…I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written. I have had intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers. . .above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”

IS THAT IT?

A LIVING

Would you have written; felt those sentiments of Oliver’s?

Do You?

What would you add?

What would you subtract?

The Scientific Study is sound and sure and Universal:

ONE OUT OF ONE OF US DIES

Go ahead. . .research it. . .refute it

One of my favorite quotes from Robert Frost, is also one of my favorite quotes about Life:

“All I know about Life can be summed up in three words: IT GOES ON

One thing that the many countless funerals I conduct teaches me–each of them– is:

ONE DAY THIS WILL BE ME

Does KNOWING that

make me live any differently?

More generously

More kindly,

More lovingly,

More forgivingly,

More appreciatively,

More graciously,

M O R E

Well. . .that is the Life long question for all of us. . .

because metastasized melanoma or not

we are all…even at this very moment…one heart beat less than having even just one more. . . .

and that, perhaps most of all, defines

A LIVING

What’s Amazing

July 17, 2015 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

WHAT’S AMAZING. . .is

I never met her before. . .didn’t and still don’t know her name.

I don’t know how old she was then or is now. . .or if she’s even alive. . .

I don’t know where she lives, if she ever got married, had children, became a Teacher, Preacher, RN, Social Worker, Whopper Flopper, homeless or a host of other countless possibilities. . .

WHAT’S AMAZING. . . is

What I do know is that in less than 15 minutes, she dramatically changed my life. . .

F O R E V E R

just by looking at life in two blink of the eyes

d i f f e r e n t l y

Our son was very sick. He began projectile vomiting on my Birthday, August 6, 1990 and THEY said he had a wondering spleen that had knotted up and had become defunct—useless.

He was so sick. . .

We were so scared. . .

There were many tests. . .

There were many Specialists. . .

There were many appointments and more appointments and even more interventions. . .

We were in a waiting room one afternoon, waiting for yet another test and a special x-ray

AND THERE SHE WAS. . .the Life-Changer

Truth?

I haven’t thought of her in some 25 years. . .really since that day we never actually met. . .

. . .until this past Tuesday when I was talking to an insurance representative turned Barber who said that he was still haunted by what he saw when he would walk through a Children’s Cancer Ward at Rainbow Babies University Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio

He said he still wakes up sometimes and questions the WHY, HOW-COME, WHAT-FOR of it all. . .

And as he was talking, S H E came back to my memory, my once-upon-a time, my powerful, Remember-When…

SHE was there that day in the waiting room.

SHE had on a hospital gown on, a makeshift bandana, an old, what looked like to be, favorite white-tattered sweater.

S H E was crying. . .not sobbing, not screaming, not wailing, no gnashing of teeth, just crying as she said, not yelling out loudly, but softly:

“Please, Mom, I don’t want to do it; Please Mom, I don’t want to do it; Please Mom, I don’t want to do it; Please Mom, I don’t want to do it; Please Mom, I don’t want to do it. . . .”

Mom spoke only with her actions.

Her eyes were red and tired looking and her hair was not prettily combed and make up couldn’t cover what her heart was shouting and her mouth couldn’t whisper. . .but her arm around her daughter, holding her close as she cried, couldn’t deny that

healing medicine. . .

L O V E

that she was giving her daughter in a highly overdosing manner.

Our son was sleeping. . .he was exhausted from crying as he was being poked, prodded and now getting a slight reprieve before the next session.

The Nurse didn’t say a word when she came to the door way.

S H E didn’t say a word. . .she left the safety of her mother’s arm and just walked away from her to follow the nurse through the door to a place she didn’t want to go. . .but went anyway

WHAT’S AMAZING. . .is

n o t

what we remember, is it. . .?

It’s that we actually DO remember it. . . .

Out of all of the How Come’s

Out of all of the What For’s

Out of all of the Why’s

That we Remember

That IT means something

(even after some 25 years)

is amazing

Two sick kids were in a waiting room one August afternoon

One was crying. . .one was exhausted from crying too much

B O T H

needed love–the perfect healer

B O T H

gave much more

WHAT’S AMAZING. . .is

The Valentine’s Day THAT Wasn’t

February 13, 2015 By ChuckBehrens 4 Comments

He was a kid in 7th grade who really didn’t like himself.

He couldn’t look in the mirror and NOT see something wrong with

His hair–too unCOMBly and wild

His Ears–too big

His Eyes–too green

His Nose–UnSHAPELY

His skin–Blemished

His body–Gawky

He couldn’t look in the mirror and NOT see something wrong with himself.

He even hated his name even though it came from his grandfather, but the way his teachers and sometimes, parents, used it, uhhhhh, NO!

He hated himself and worse. . .

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