Doing Life Well

Each of us is responsible for the estimated 100 trillion cells that make up our bodies. 100 years ago people died from infection, but today the majority of deaths are from preventable conditions. My grandfather and father both died of prostate cancer, and I have been a prostate cancer survivor for 6 years. Your probably thinking waiting and watching my cancer spread must be nerve wracking, and I guess it could be if I dwelled on the things I can’t control. But each day I focus on those things that give me the energy to do life “well”. What will you do today to ensure you have the energy to do life “well” tomorrow?

Sunlight Clasps the Earth and Moonbeams Kiss the Sea

My mom met my dad at Muskingum College in Ohio, where she was an English Major.  She loved the flow of words and the rhythmic pleasing patterns they formed when placed just right.  Poetry was her choice for a good read on our back patio where the birds and squirrels played chase in the trees, and the shadows danced on the paved patio squares.  Yesterday, I stopped in an MD Anderson garden as I walked back from a meeting, and heard her voice, “And the sunlight clasps the earth / And the moonbeams kiss the sea: / What is all this sweet work worth / If thou kiss not me?”  She was a romantic and as cancer took her body, she found solace in her Bible, faith, and poets like Shelley.  Gifts she gave to me.  What gifts are you giving others? 

Berlin Wall and Freedom

I served the majority of my active Army tour in Europe protecting nuclear weapons, which required a Top Secret clearance.  The Berlin Wall was still up, but there was an agreement between East and West Germany that American service members could take a bus trip into East Germany if they wore their uniform.  We arrived at Checkpoint Charlie; the MPs took our papers and immediately pulled me off the bus.  Their commander told me the risk of going in with a Top Secret clearance, but if I did go in, I was not allowed off the bus.  I took the trip, and when everyone else was visiting the parks, monuments and museums, I sat on the bus and occasionally waved to the East German soldiers that stood guard over the bus and me.  It wasn’t the trip I expected, but being confined to the bus in a city surrounded by a wall and barbwire, as I left the bus, I realized the true preciousness of freedom.  Don’t ever take our freedom for granted.

Living in the Here and Now

It had been a really intense workday.  I left work tired and hungry, and since MaryBeth had already eaten I headed to Jason’s Grill.  After parking my scooter I noticed a group of Tibetan Monks taking pictures with the full size Santa statue near the fish fountain.  We talked for a few minutes about the program they will be performing today using meditation and a tantric ritual, entitled “Cutting through the Ego”.  Their host came, I said my goodbyes, and ran up the escalator to Jason’s Grill for I had let go of my intense workday, and was once again anchored back in the here and now.  You probably won’t get a visit from Tibetan Monks this weekend, but you can strengthen your resilience by living in the here and now.

The Consequency of the Chase

Link Jim Loehr The Only Way to Win

We came out of the chapel, and they stood there in their full dress whites waiting to form the arch of swords that would honor the newly married couple. Gosh I love uniforms! It probably started in the 50’s with Cub Scouts and the blue cap with gold trim, quickly replaced by my Boy Scout uniform with colored patches, badges, and Order of the Arrow sash. And then the Army with my golden ranger tab, silver airborne wings, and hat with a paratrooper patch. Was it the uniforms, or was it belonging to groups that created purpose and passion in my life? Jim Loehr, in his book The Only Way to Win, talks about “it’s not what you achieve, but about whom you become in the consequence of the chase.”

Be Where You Are

Friday, I left with a suitcase packed with clothes for the wedding, planned family gatherings, exercise walks, and play. I also took my briefcase filled with 1 “must finish” project, and 2 work projects that I had been nursing for several weeks. Our first evening in Annapolis we ate together, shared happy memories, and reconnected with the joys of extended family. After that first evening I felt an inner harmony, a delight with just “being where I was”. The last morning in Annapolis, I finally got around to opening my briefcase, not for work, but to check the number of our return flight. Buddha said……”be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.”

Ubuntu

This past weekend, a Naval Academy Chapel wedding brought the Schaffner family together for 4-days in Annapolis Maryland.  My mom was a Schaffner, and like most families spread across too many States, it’s weddings and funerals that bring us back together to meet new family members, share stories and love.  As the weekend progressed and I watched our family do what families can do so well when they get together to experience and celebrate life. I thought about years ago watching Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Bill Clinton talk about “Ubuntu”.  Ubuntu is an Africa worldview; “I am because you are, you are because I am”, or our lives are bound together and this shared love is the essence of being human.  Be resilient in your Ubuntu today!