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Blogs by Dr. Ronald D. Bissell
Passing Through 8/29/2005 6:06:20 AM
I've been away for a few weeks visiting family in upper state Wisconsin. It was a beautiful trip with excursions into the wilderness areas. We flew to Milwaukee and then traveled 4-5 hours north into the 'north woods' of Wisconsin. We passed many small towns, villages, and areas where no one was visible. It was quite a journey.
As I returned home for some unknown reason I became acutely aware of the passage of time during my travels. Even though I was gone several weeks it seemed like just a day or so. Time became compressed into a surrealistic minute and as I realized this compression I sat for a moment and reflected on my life. It was then during those moments of reflection that the awareness of my passing through this world became real.
I spent over 30 years in private surgical practice treating all kinds of trauma and disease. As I look back it seems like those 30+ years didn't exist but were just glimpses of events and happenings. Even last night my wife and I were talking about this very thing. She told me how strange it was to her that even knowing that we have lived in our home for over 30 years and raised our family those years seemed and felt like a blink of an eye.
I wonder how long it will take people to realize how real it is that they are simply passing through this world. We are from a place of safety and will return to that place but in the mean time we need to focus on each moment here and now and to make that moment a moment of awareness. It is by doing this that we will know as our passage continues that we have used each moment to its fullest potential.
How many people look to tomorrow for the fulfillment of their lives? How many say I'll do that later or let's go waste time at the Mall? Can you imagine wasting time? How much time do you have? When will it end? How long a passage do we have before we move on? Questions without answers but questions we need to address.
Once we realize we are passing through and not staying in this world we begin to realize the importance of each moment and will begin to live our lives differently. No longer will we put off being with our family or make work such an important part of our life. We will interact with others in a totally different way. We will become at peace because we will know we are not wasting precious time but spending it wisely doing the important things that make life worthwhile.
Stop where you are and think for a moment of the moment you are presently in. Become aware of your surroundings and feel, I mean really feel, your presence in this world. Then, commit yourself to living in this kind of awareness and making each moment count so that the rest of your life, however long or short it may be, one of increasing wakefulness. When you commit to doing this you will make your passing through this world one of tremendous inspiration to others. You will accomplish your goals and aspirations and will look back at each with happiness knowing you created a passage of untold beauty.
