WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY

Good Afternoon on Wonderful Wednesday and it is warm and pleasant although the sky is grey and heavy with thunder storms in the forecast time frame.

Spring is here and Mother Nature is indeed being fickle and we are promised a cold day tomorrow - but that's fine - all is well and I have both a garden and as library and while it is not everything I need it comes close.   My garden can bring me visual beauty and fruit and vegetables and a Library can take me anywhere I need to go and show me the sights of this beautiful world.

I am blessed indeed and the weeks are just flying by and soon it will be Christmas 16 weeks away and my thoughts are turning to things Christmas and it is a time I relish.

I hope that your Wonderful Wednesday is just that - a wonderful day - filled with all sorts of lovely things and times however you spend the day. Find joy in the little things and remember to be present to each and every moment of each and every lovely day.

To those travelling have a wonderful time and to those still working - keep on plodding on - your holidays will come very soon.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of my Heart - a thankful heart for warmer days and for health and happiness.

Love and hugs,

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME

"The rose and the thorn, and sorrow and gladness are linked together."

Saadi.

Welcome to Sunday afternoon in my little corner of the world, where the sky is very overcast and a storm is promised in spite of the heat.

I spent a lovely Sunday Morning in the Gardens not very far from my home where I attended the Donate Life Week Rose planting ceremony.  This was the launch event for Donate Life Week and there will be many functions and much publicity during the coming week promoting the issue of Organ and Tissue donation ~ an issue very close to my heart.

This morning I joined with Donor families, Recipients and their families and friends, Medical Staff and those who work very closely with Donor Families, to give thanks for the gift of life.

We were addressed by several Members of Parliament, a Donor Family representative and a Recipient and it was a lovely time - very emotional and many tears were shed.   I thought the quote above about the rose and the thorn was most appropriate for this blog post.  

I was able to sit with the husband of a newly transplanted lady who just wasn't up to being there and was able to give him support and introduce him to several people.   We caught up with our special Transplant Coordinator from Flinders Medical Centre, and it was nice to chat a while.

This is my third year of attending and this time was extra special to me because of the friendships and associations I have made during this last year with the Transplant community and to be greeted warmly when I arrived was very special.

Warmly is right - a very hot day, but arrangements had been made for there to be a Marquee with open sides for the wind to blow through, but everyone was able to be in the shade.  The arranging of this event and the catering was first class and it was delightful to be there.

I had the opportunity to speak with the Donor Family representative and to share their grief at the loss of their son and yet to rejoice with them in the celebration of life right in this lovely Garden of Remembrance.    The Garden is right on the fringe of the City Centre and is very close to a busy road where trams, cars, buses, trucks and cyclists pass every minute of the day, and it is right on a flight path for Adelaide Airport.   

The placing of this Garden in this situation is very special to me because it is the Garden of Life and it situated right in the middle of where life is happening and I feel it most appropriate.  A Children's "Road Safety" area has been placed close by - and there will be laughter and children's noises often near the garden - and on the other side a big playground is under construction.   All of these things represent "Life" and the roses growing there represent life too with the blossoms of joy for the recipients and the thorns of grief and sadness for the Donor families.   To me it all meshes together beautifully and I hope to attend many many more of these events.

Thank you for sharing my joy at my presence there - I visited the rose that was planted for my year of 2009 "Gift of Grace"  and it will grow beautifully alongside this year's "Spirit of Peace", last year's "Thank You" and other roses with beautiful names ~ Memory Rose, Close to You, Remember Me,  Joy of Life, Joy of Health, Reflection and In Appreciation.   Many different colours - representing the many and varied Donors and Recipients..

I spent some time in quiet reflection and took time to honour my Donor and his family and the Donor and family of my dearest friend , and thought of all those I now know who have been touched by Organ and Tissue Donation.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart - today a heart filled with gratitude for the selfless gift of life given to me and so many and a heart that supports Donor Families.

"Oliver" -( my new liver ) and I are doing very well and I live daily with a thankful heart.

Love and hugs,

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Welcome to Wednesday in my little corner of the world where it is warmer and I have broken out a much lighter shirt to wear today - pink and white stripes.   The sun has been shining but is now overcast and the wind has been blowing from the north which always means a warmer day for us.

My lovely car and I have been "On the Road Again" this time paying pack a very big debt - driving John for a medical procedure - and it is wonderful to be able to do this after all the times and efforts he has put in for me.  He has sat in waiting rooms and empty hall ways at all hours of the day and night, made the trek from home to Flinders many many times and although he would say I owe him nothing - I feel it an honour to be able to do something for him.

His procedure went well and he goes back in 10 days for detailed results.

I stayed in the car in a pretty carpark/garden and read my book - it was a peaceful time and the traffic coming home was much quieter than the 8.30 morning rush hour to North Adelaide. 

Spending time here was not difficult.

Trees and cars all around

A terraced garden

Ivy well established on a wall.

Pretty pink Shrub.

It is a wonderful feeling to be "On The Road Again" and driving around this fair City  - and a great honour to be able to pay back for some of the dark days and miserable times my illness caused.

My friends at Love Your Liver decided I should have a fancy car to drive around and this is the one they promise will arrive in my driveway - oh the joy that this would bring.    It will take a while because it has to be modified to a left hand drive - it is very special to have friends who in spite of their pain and difficult lives because of liver disease, can joke and be funny - Thank you Group.   Very pretty.

I am alive and well and living a full and happy life and finding joy in the little things - and today especially being  "On the Road Again"  I loved it.

Thank you for visiting the musings of my heart - a thankful and happy heart which is finding great joy in living and loving.   I am very blessed.

Love and hugs,

Linda. 

BREAK THE RULES

Welcome to Wednesday afternoon in my little corner of the world where the sky is grey one minute, cloudy and blue the next ~ and holding the promise of rain and storms again.   Rather like life really - all going smoothly one minute and then you hit a bump in the road that causes you to wobble.

Life is sweet for me - and I have so much to be thankful for and my days are quiet and peaceful ~ daffodils are blooming in my garden and are a constant source of joy - they make my heart sing and bring a smile to my lips.

I am thankful for safe medical procedures for those I love, happy hours, letters in the mail, blossoms on the tree, music to thrill and stir my soul, communication, messages and photographs. laughter and the joys of friendship.  I am thankful for my warm and comfortable bed while the chilly wind blows, food in my fridge, and a good book to read (and a pile of them waiting to be read.)  I enjoy a movie on DVD every now and then and can watch it on a portable DVD player while I continue at my desk.  

I have been busy with many things and yet don't seem to have much to show for the efforts but I have a sense of calm and peace within my life.

News comes in fast and furious over the Internet and it thrills me to share all the good and bad things that happen and today news of the death of a Transplant friend came through.   Megan received a new heart in 2010 and became unwell very suddenly, and very quickly lost the battle for life.  She leaves a little family with her daughter just four years.

This young woman was full of life and seemed to have the whole future in front of her - but she used the gift she received to be present to each moment of her life and I am proud that her path crossed mine.   Fly free Megan and dance on the wind.

She had two extra years of life and I am encouraged by that fact and urge everyone of you to register as an Organ Donor and give others like Megan and me a chance at life.

It is the middle of the working week (hump day) which means it is only a few more days to another weekend and for those who are working hang on to that thought.  Be gentle with yourselves and go steadily into your working days - enjoy the company of your colleagues, walk in the fresh air in your lunch time, and take good care to rest easy.   If you don't go to the Office/Place of Business, but spend your days at home supporting the family and those who do work it is really important that you take care of yourself too.

Life is short, break the rules, ~ Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly ~ laugh uncontrollably and Never regret anything that made you smile.

And today more than ever I encourage you all to be present to each moment of each hour of each day  ~ tell those you love that you do love them, hug your kids, dance in the rain, splash in puddles and turn your face to the sun for then the shadows will be behind you.

Listen to the music that thrills your soul, eat desert first, walk by the river or the ocean and listen to the noises of the water and the sea birds.

Most of all take the time to be at peace with yourself:

DESIDERATA

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."

Max Ehrmann c.1920

Thank you for visiting the Musings of my Heart ~ a heart deep in thought.

Love and hugs,

Linda