It's been a long time since I posted here at Lisa Allender Writes, but today, Sunday, August 7th, I'm going to be posting from a dear friend's Facebook Notes. My ol' pal, Andrew Pope posted recently about a renewed sense of appreciation, and I think it bears posting here. Below,enjoy kids.
From Andrew Pope, posted on his FB Wall, July 22nd, 2011.
Don't Wait.
I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting since our Australian Sheppard “Jazzy” was diagnosed with lymphoma. We have all shed a few tears and have done a lot of reminiscing since the diagnosis. After discussing it as a family, we decided to do the emotionally driven, illogical thing and go for the chemotherapy treatments. Jazzy is doing well and the lymphoma is in complete remission even with a few months left of her treatments to go. She’s back to tugging my arm to chase squirrels (though not with quite as much gusto) as well as herding the kids as they run around the house and games of tug o war when she’s feeling up to it.
As painful as it has been for the kids (and Bonnie and I), I think we made the right choice even though it is so completely out of character for us to let emotions rule over logic, rationality and fiscal responsibility. Y’see, they can’t kill the cancer (that was not listed as even a possibility); they can only drive it back a bit to give us more time to say goodbye. And we’re willing to accept that as a gift.
The silver lining to the whole situation is this: I have noticed that all of us are much less likely to wave her off when she comes looking for attention or the plain ‘ol expression of love that a dog gets from petting. We've all become even more sensitive to these needs on her treatment days – when her need for the confirmation of our love of her seems to multiply tenfold. It has made us stop taking her for granted; to appreciate her like we did when we first got her from the dog rescue organization. We've returned to treating her like we ought to all treat our loved ones all the time. I will get down on the floor and pet her for extended periods of time. I am less likely to tug her along when she stops overlong (for what I often feel is a ridiculous amount of time) sniffing this or that indiscriminate spot along our walk route. We’re all playing with her more and pampering her more. We’re even letting her on furniture that used to be off limits. We’re appreciating her more…
It struck me recently how much better off we’d all be if we thought (realized) that there is only a finite amount of time that we have with ALL our loved ones. I’ve begun calling my parents more, just to check in with them. I’m concentrating on staying in touch more with friends and loved ones and trying to reconnect with ones that have become distant. . I’m trying to please my wife more and lift up my kids more that I used to. I’m tying to appreciate them more…
Did you think of someone there? Someone that you think you’ve perhaps started to take for granted? Whether you have or not isn’t important. The fact that you think you may have is enough. Give that someone (at least the first one you thought of) a call. Let them know how you feel. Appreciate them for what they are in your life; a blessing.
Here endeth the sermon.
Thank you, Andrew, for the (uplifting) reminder.Sunday feels like a good day to post this.
Peace, kids.
Showing posts with label Spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spirituality. Show all posts
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Thursday, February 12, 2009
RIP, Carol Mitchell-Leon.
Carol Mitchell-Leon was one of the first people I met, back in 1985, when I became a member of the company of actors at the original Academy Theatre on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Actually, she was still Carol Mitchell at that moment, as she had not yet become close with, and gotten married to, the incredibly talented Kenny Leon(That marriage ended in 1998).
Carol would beam that soon-to-be-famous-smile every day that I was fortunate enough to see her. She was always helpful, from pointing me in the correct direction for great food, to offering her help when I was working as an apprentice with Academy.
And although I knew her through the Academy Theatre, I would, over the course of the next nearly 24 years, see her in countless plays, and watch her on-screen. And I would marvel.I marveled at her ability to completely inhabit a role; Carol dove into the roles she was cast into, with the gusto of an Olympic athlete.
Never afraid of challenges, a few of her roles have included characters such as a cruel mother, a dysfunctional one-half of a scary married couple, and even one of the Delaney sisters in the real-life eldery duo's play based on their best-selling book, "The Delaney Sisters: Having Our Say."
Even with all the attention(well-deserved) she received, Carol remained always, flawlessly, grateful. She lived and breathed, gratefulness.
A few nights ago, a "Bon Voyage" party was held for Carol, at Atlanta's 7 Stages' Theatre. And although I'm certain it would be the kind of upbeat, fitting tribute("Let's celebrate her life")that Carol would have preferred, I could not bear to attend, because although I appreciated her skills as an actress, and was always deeply moved by her performances, I regretted--sorrowfully, unenduringly regretted--not becoming closer with her. Not staying-in-touch the way one should, when one is so moved by someone, so special.
And so, on Monday night, I sat at home, rifling through a few trinkets--ticket stubs of plays she performed in, running my hands over programs where her name appears,and making a conscious effort, not to cry.
I recalled how, when I learned she was ill, (my understanding is that she suffered an infection. A 1990 kidney transplant had served her well, but it seems nothing lasts forever),I kept thinking she'd recover quickly, be up and around, and back to doing what she did--performing--so well. I heard she'd regained consciousness, and even spoke.
While she was in the hospital, I knelt in front of candles in Catholic church, and said the rosary for her.I wanted to see Carol Mitchell-Leon, and I selfishly wanted to see her where I best knew her--onstage, thrilling everyone, including me, with her deliberate, nuanced performances.
Carol, I wish I'd had the chance, and made the time, to get to know you as a dear friend. But please know you are a mentor--an acting-mentor, and now, a spiritual-mentor, to me. God Bless You and Yours.
Peace in your journey, beautiful girl, towards home.
To see a list of film and television projects Carol participated in, you may reach her IMDB page at the following address:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0593817/
Peace, kids.
Carol would beam that soon-to-be-famous-smile every day that I was fortunate enough to see her. She was always helpful, from pointing me in the correct direction for great food, to offering her help when I was working as an apprentice with Academy.
And although I knew her through the Academy Theatre, I would, over the course of the next nearly 24 years, see her in countless plays, and watch her on-screen. And I would marvel.I marveled at her ability to completely inhabit a role; Carol dove into the roles she was cast into, with the gusto of an Olympic athlete.
Never afraid of challenges, a few of her roles have included characters such as a cruel mother, a dysfunctional one-half of a scary married couple, and even one of the Delaney sisters in the real-life eldery duo's play based on their best-selling book, "The Delaney Sisters: Having Our Say."
Even with all the attention(well-deserved) she received, Carol remained always, flawlessly, grateful. She lived and breathed, gratefulness.
A few nights ago, a "Bon Voyage" party was held for Carol, at Atlanta's 7 Stages' Theatre. And although I'm certain it would be the kind of upbeat, fitting tribute("Let's celebrate her life")that Carol would have preferred, I could not bear to attend, because although I appreciated her skills as an actress, and was always deeply moved by her performances, I regretted--sorrowfully, unenduringly regretted--not becoming closer with her. Not staying-in-touch the way one should, when one is so moved by someone, so special.
And so, on Monday night, I sat at home, rifling through a few trinkets--ticket stubs of plays she performed in, running my hands over programs where her name appears,and making a conscious effort, not to cry.
I recalled how, when I learned she was ill, (my understanding is that she suffered an infection. A 1990 kidney transplant had served her well, but it seems nothing lasts forever),I kept thinking she'd recover quickly, be up and around, and back to doing what she did--performing--so well. I heard she'd regained consciousness, and even spoke.
While she was in the hospital, I knelt in front of candles in Catholic church, and said the rosary for her.I wanted to see Carol Mitchell-Leon, and I selfishly wanted to see her where I best knew her--onstage, thrilling everyone, including me, with her deliberate, nuanced performances.
Carol, I wish I'd had the chance, and made the time, to get to know you as a dear friend. But please know you are a mentor--an acting-mentor, and now, a spiritual-mentor, to me. God Bless You and Yours.
Peace in your journey, beautiful girl, towards home.
To see a list of film and television projects Carol participated in, you may reach her IMDB page at the following address:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0593817/
Peace, kids.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
SPIRITUAL INSPIRATION.
From Oprah's website, here's the answer given by a famed author and Holocaust survivor when asked:What Does Spirituality Mean to You?
Elie Wiesel, President of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and author of Night (Hill and Wang)
"Is it at all possible to live without a spiritual quest? Of course it is—theoretically. Under the two totalitarian dictatorships that plagued the 20th century, Fascism and Communism, politics replaced spirituality. But lest we forget: Both collapsed. Can one be spiritual without religious faith? One can. All one needs is to be open to someone else's concerns, fears, and hopes, and to make him or her feel less alone, less abandoned. God alone is alone. Human beings are not, must not be. It is my caring for the otherness of the other that determines my humanity. And my spirituality."
How's that for something to ponder on a quiet Saturday afternoon? This Memorial Weekend, kids, amidst parades and barbeques, please remember that our duty, obligation, moral imperative, is to:
* remember those who've suffered,
*lessen or prevent any future suffering, and
*promote peace.
It's not at all contradictory to promote the concept of Peace when so many people who died serving in the military are being remembered. It is, in fact, only when we achieve a Peaceful, Peace-filled world, that we may ensure we lose no one else to war.
For ways on how to begin your own Peace process, check out:
http://www.paxchristi.org/
From Oprah's website, here's the answer given by a famed author and Holocaust survivor when asked:What Does Spirituality Mean to You?
Elie Wiesel, President of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and author of Night (Hill and Wang)
"Is it at all possible to live without a spiritual quest? Of course it is—theoretically. Under the two totalitarian dictatorships that plagued the 20th century, Fascism and Communism, politics replaced spirituality. But lest we forget: Both collapsed. Can one be spiritual without religious faith? One can. All one needs is to be open to someone else's concerns, fears, and hopes, and to make him or her feel less alone, less abandoned. God alone is alone. Human beings are not, must not be. It is my caring for the otherness of the other that determines my humanity. And my spirituality."
How's that for something to ponder on a quiet Saturday afternoon? This Memorial Weekend, kids, amidst parades and barbeques, please remember that our duty, obligation, moral imperative, is to:
* remember those who've suffered,
*lessen or prevent any future suffering, and
*promote peace.
It's not at all contradictory to promote the concept of Peace when so many people who died serving in the military are being remembered. It is, in fact, only when we achieve a Peaceful, Peace-filled world, that we may ensure we lose no one else to war.
For ways on how to begin your own Peace process, check out:
http://www.paxchristi.org/
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