Stop With The Organ Recitals… By Gene Morin
It is like the disease of nonstop texting.
It happens slowly, creeping in like a thief in the night. Two seniors run into each other in a store.
It starts with “how are you?”
Then the terror begins. An endless series of stories about operations, diseases, recovery, cancers.
Each senior has a better story. You’ve heard the stories before and can recite them word for word.
They talk of their pains, aches and dread of more sickness.
We become what we talk about. As the man Job said, “for the thing I greatly feared has come upon me. And what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease nor am I quiet, I have no rest, for trouble comes”.
This negative talk is not confined to those who have no belief in God. Those who believe are no different.
I wonder what others that hear them think? Do they say “their God can’t be worth anything if they fear just like me?”
We need to talk about our experiences, but it can be harmful if that is all we talk about. There is more to life than the past.
When we are surrounded by sick people we catch their disease. A man wondered if he had a bad heart after hearing a friend talk about his heart troubles.
When I have been sick and get well, I never think of the time I was sick. I rejoice in being well and living life fully.
I don’t watch TV shows about hospitals, or operations or ads for new medications. I fill my mind with happy thoughts or positive images.
I remember a movie which, unknown to the audience, flashed subliminal images of people crawling in a desert, dying of thirst, just before the intermission. The audience stormed the concession counters.
Our minds are always like small children’s minds, sponges taking in everything around them.
As we age, we obsess with bad news and check the obituaries, which friends are hospitalized, who is having an operation. Instead of vacation brochures, we read about diseases.
Death will come, and there is no hurry to get there. Enjoy each sunny day, each day you can see the flowers, smell the fresh air, see the wonders of the trees, small animals and children, hear the voices of children playing,
Do something you never did, like skydiving, bungee jumping, rollercoaster rides, wind surfing, white water rafting, visit exotic places, wear outlandish clothes, cut your hair differently, drive an Uber taxi, start painting, go to a poor country and help in an orphanage.
Life is too short to wait for death. Make death find you.
Gene Monin is a pastor and spiritual writer. Reach him at adios43@yahoo.com or 705 253 2608