a candle burning

Cindy was talking with a friend one evening last week, and through the course of the conversation received wonderful information about a prayer of light that can be made in honor of June. This friend of Cindy's will contact a friend of hers in China who will light a candle in a temple for a prayer for June. Apparently the monks in this temple monitor the candles that are lit and never let them go out.
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The power of prayer is never to be underestimated. How touching and humbling to know that there is a candle on the other side of the world is burning for June, which will never go out. The temple in which June's candle is lit is the Donglin Temple in the Jiangxi province of China . The temple is in a rural area, approximately 20 kilometers from the city of Jiujiang and was built in the year 386. Today, there is still a small order of monks there, who are are supported by the farming community.

dancing in the rain...

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors and got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me, no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while as she was a victim of Alzheimer's disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?"

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life."

True love is neither physical nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be. Peace is seeing a sunset and knowing who to thank. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. Life isn't about how to survive the storm but how to dance in the rain.

the big dance

This is a blog for June...for June's dance in the rain...for our dance in the rain. After all, life isn't about how to survive the storm but how to dance in the rain. The biggest dance of all is unfolding right now...and there isn't room for any wallflowers.

June is a friend, daughter, sister, aunt, mentor, leader, nurse, teacher, rower, biker, astrologer, confidante, violinist (yes... violinist!) ...and the list goes on and on. She is also one of the most beautiful, strong, and gracious people I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

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This blog is a place for June's "village" to come together. This is her dance...and this blog is a place for ponderings on light, love, and hope...because, as she has always said...it really is all about the love.