THE FULLNESS OF LIFE

THE FULLNESS OF LIFE

Harry Bissoon 3/10/2923


This afternoon I was given a free lesson in yoga. It was not of my asking but it was as a result of my approval to participate in a research on Caregivers to cancer patients. I had done some yoga before, several years ago when I was a student of an esoteric organization, so basic breathing exercises, to isolate and follow my breath was not new to me. But when the researcher gave me a single raisin to hold in my hand I was amazed at what followed.


She told me, with invigorating enthusiasm, to look at it, seeing only the raisin, and nothing else in the room. I like raisins. I eat them all the time, but it was the first time I had really seen a raisin so close. So close that it invaded my mindfulness. I heard her telling me, from afar it seemed, to share my thoughts and observations with her!


The setting is in a hospital where I am a Caregiver, and, like my mindfulness of the raisin, my mind wanders to the patients who come and go for treatment.


In reality, I get an opportunity to have a close look at other people who are not patients,who also come and go at regular, and irregular intervals, and who always seem in anxious haste. 


The care and concern at the hospital by doctors and relatives is overwhelming! Children walk with their parents! Sisters and brothers  accompany each other! Wives and husbands sit together and offer comfort!  Parents console children! And doctors, nurses, technicians, and a host of other staff, scurries about to provide care and support. 


My mind drifted back to the raisin, as the researcher prompted me back to the shriveled grape - the fulness of the juicy grape, reduced to a jagged roundness, still infused with sweetness! 


My mind wanders again! Is this the fullness of life, where life itself is being buoyed by outstretched hands, and, like the iron smith's anvil, abounding faith, resoluteness, and fulfillment, fullness of life is achieved. What if it's nothing of the sort? Then, is it when one has reached his, or her, zenith in terms of personal achievements? Quite frankly, I think it's all a matter of perspective, in which a kaleidoscope of colors and fantasies crowd our minds.


Back to the confines of the research parameters! What do you see in the raisin, the researcher asked? I see  patients who are sick but still have boundless hope and joy. I see those who just stare, with a gleam in their eyes, but do not talk. I see sick people come and go to the facility, many of them walk on their own, accompanied by loved ones, while others come on wheelchairs and stretchers, or with walkers and cane. 


I see young people with different stages of affliction, who come to the hospital, with looks of hope in their eyes, while many seem lost in despair and desolation. 


And, I ask myself, is this fullness of life?


I look at the researcher and smile, and I told her that the fullness of life is a commitment of the facility, and that I have seen many who have come with a deep belief in what the facility offers, and have rang the bell, and have left with a resounding new adventure in the fullness of life. 


Many are reborn in this hospital and given new life, and when the doctors and  nurses wish you happy birthday,know that you are born again!










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