[Oe List ...] Salmon: for your reflections

[Carlos R. Zervigon]

Bill

Thanks! It relates to my pulmonary fibrosis. Oxygen has become my friendly
companion. Every day is a great gift. The diagnosis was Feb 09 and I am
still here. I am scheduled to teach 7 hours a day all of next week.

 

Happily breathless in New Orleans

 

Carlos R. Zervigon, PMP

Zervigon International, Ltd.

817 Antonine St.

New Orleans, LA  70115  USA

504 894-9868 Mobile: 504 908-0762

carlos at zervigon.com

http://www.zervigon.com

 

From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf
Of William Salmon
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 6:38 AM
To: OE at wedgeblade.net
Subject: [Oe List ...] Salmon: for your reflections

 

Colleagues--

    Is there a better message to live by when life turns everything
up-side-down than to recall the insights of brother Bonhoeffer? Life does
not define us, rather it is our relationship to life that we take that
defines Life.

    The painful changes of life are amoral; they are just events,
activities, experiences and realities. When our son Wesley died at 20 with
leukemia he was victimized by this damnable disease, but he never empowered
the disease by saying he was a victim. Rather, he chose (or, perhaps, I
chose for him) to be a VICTOR! Whatever the choice, this was the self-story
we all lived until he died. 

    It is a matter of choice, and an important choice at that! To chose to
be a VICTOR---in spite of leukemia, or even because of it--robs the disease
of any power over us. To choose to make ourselves VICTIMS is to empower the
disease with attributes that it never possesses by itself. 

    While reality is characterized by death and pain, Castaneda reminded us
that both death and pain never lie to us; we can ask, "Am I in pain?" and if
the answer is, "Yes!" we can damn well believe we are." On the other hand. .
. . 

    I have god-damned leukemia ever since Wesley's death to no avail.
Leukemia is not my enemy. While I will never accept its friendship either,
leukemia just continues to do its thing; it is fulfilling its created
purpose.

    Is there Good News in here somewhere? Yes, the Christian story is that
Jesus demonstrated that he was not a victim to the political and religious
powers of his day, and deliberately chose to die on the cross as the
demonstration that even death itself does not victimize us; Jesus is the
first born of many brothers and sisters. When we choose to live out of This
Story then we experience a resurrection; we experience The Christ. (JWM
would love this!) 

    Well, duh! Death only does its thing too. 

    Ah, well, such is life. 

    Inner Peace, 

    Bill 

 

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