“The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them…And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you’ve said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That’s the worst, I think. when the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.”

-Stephen King, “The Body”

Recently, I have come to reflect on a number of important threads in my life during the times I have waited for my radiation treatment at the cancer clinic. These are nothing more than thoughts which were barely rescued before they fluttered away to play hide and go seek within the deep recesses of my mind. Gathered on two separate occasions, this is my humble attempt to share in writing a partial snapshot of some of those fleeting moments in the hope that maybe my words will have meaningful impact on at least one person who reads them.

Some Thoughts on Family

by

B. B. Wright

To me family is a place where you can be your worst and the people around you remind you of your best. Family represents safety, respite and peace. In family lies positivity and positivity is forgiveness. Family recognizes that each of its members are tethered to his/her childhood and, from time to time it shows up unexpectedly in ways that may be either positive or negative in its impact. Family accepts both the broken and unbroken parts of its members unconditionally and seeks to either mend or rejoice in those parts. Family does not dote out punishment or shame when suffering accompanies the human spirit of one of its members but recognizes that forgiveness is the courageous witness to what s/he is and what s/he can become. Family recognizes, supports and protects all the tender, fragile pieces that form the fabric of each of its member’s life and, when necessary, helps in its healing process.

Some Thoughts on Retirement

by

B. B. Wright

Retirement brings its own set of rules. The number one rule is to ENJOY. Use your time wisely since time is your new currency. RE-examine dreams, both past and present, and pursue only the ones that still make sense for you. Rejoice in family and friends because they enrich your journey. Let go of negative thoughts and old grudges since they zap your energy and eat-away at your soul. Find something that is bigger than self to pursue in your life, you will never regret it. RE-examine boundaries you have set on yourself and, if any interfere with your new life choices, change them. Seek the wisdom you may have lost in knowledge and the knowledge you may have lost in information. You will find the questions you will need to ask and the wisdom to answer them correctly for you.