CHILL PILLS

Over the weekend , I have done nothing but spend the pass 36 hours at the Hospital...a children's Hospital.All manner of traumas and injuries suffered by kids each weekend flow through the hospital.It is chaotic and at the same time organised. Operations have a sense of priorities and there is constant juggling of such priorities.It is a world that is fluid. There is the human factor to deal with .Children in pain , parents and family and staff.

For me , it took approximately 20 over hours and 2 trips to the hospital before my son got into theatre. Lots of waiting and sitting around a hospital bed.The staff were great but it was difficult to just sit and do nothing or at least for me very little physical activity.

I did get a chance to read the newspapers and my book Empire by Niall Ferguson

Two little lessons I picked from all the reading on the weekend.

Lesson One from a piece by Amanda Keenan in the West Australian Weekend magazine on self-help Guru John Demartini. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Demartini)

"Every individual has a set of priorities , values , things that are the most and least important .Whenever they set goals , intentions and objectives according to their highest values , then they're inspired from within to go after it and they don't need outside motivation to do it"

And his pearls of wisdom:

Save Money ...bank at least 10% of your earnings or more
Find your path ...define what you would love to do in your life
Surround yourself with positive thinkers
Read , read , read ...whether it be self help books or a great novel
Count your blessings...keep a gratitude diary
Eat wisely. Eating moderately at regular times optimises physical function.


All of which I continue to strive to attain.

Lesson 2
In reading the book Empire which is about the British Empire from the early beginnings and the slave trade among many other topics. Among the many characters of the early 18th century Slave trade was John Newton , a slave ship captain and very devout Christian clergyman who is more well known for the stirring hymn he wrote ...Amazing Grace. What was amazing was that he became a slave trader after his religious awakening and a few years after leaving the trade became a clergyman and studied theology.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind, but now I see.



The words by Newton are probably from his direct experience in the trade which was very profitable .

It seems no matter what happens in our lives , we can all have life changing moments as John Newton did .Be it religious , spiritual or otherwise. Being open to these and other experiences is a start. I have much to be grateful for and much more to be thankful for after this weekend .