Emotional Pro

Consuelo Garcia’s two children will never know their mother’s comforting arms again. Adele Guerrero’s husband has lost his life’s companion. Today’s headline is “Rare snow causes fatal crash.” The article states: “Snow, sleet and hail made a rare appearance in the Bay Area this weekend, closing roads and causing a 28-car pileup that killed two people.” A mass of cold, moist and unstable air from the Gulf of Alaska brought snow and sleet down as low as 500 feet above sea level, a freakish welather condition in Marin county, which lies next to the ocean and directly above San Francisco. Garcia was only 30 years old, Guerrero 26. In the wee hours of Saturday morning they were heading home. Within a few freakish minutes they were no longer part of this earth experience.
My niece told me of crossing an 800 foot deep gorge suspended from a cable in Costa Rica (harnessed) on her recent trip. Some of the ride attendants wiggled out of their harnesses (at 800 feet!) in order to deal with difficulties occuring with the ride. Each of us has a different level of desire to stay alive here on earth. I believe that Guerrero and Garcia would not have wiggled out of their harness, yet they are no longer here.
It brings to mind a conversation I had with my friend, Gene Gerlach, a naturalist, many years ago. I understand that it is a very old philosophical argument, something my well-educated husband learned about during his thorough Jesuit education. I told Gene that I thought people come to earth to “polish their diamond,” to learn as much as they can, heal wounds, and be the best person they can be. Their soul, which I perceive as energy, I told him, persists after a person gives up his or her body. “Nah,” he said with a scoff. “When you’re dead, you’re dead. They put you in the ground. That’s it. You only have one life; and when it is over, it’s over.” And then it struck me: no matter whether we believe as Gene does, or as I do, our mission is the same: Make the most of your life every minute you are alive, being the best person you can be and maximizing your experience in every way possible. If we are “polishing our diamond,” we’ll take a better “diamond” on with us after this life is done. If we have only one life to live, then we will have lived it to the fullest.
For years, I have been “writing a book.” I have, in fact, had several shorter books published. Whenever I have written, my efforts have been put into print. But I have not completed my book on “Conscious Parenting,” the one on “Energy Sapping and Energy Vampires,” or the one on “Anger Mastery.” I have portions; but not a complete treatise. For the last two years, I have been hosting my own Internet radio program, Full Power Living. Each week, I read one to two books written by the guests on my show. That, and the premature death of my older sister (cancer), has stimulated me to write. I’m now 150 pages into my new book, entitled Born to Learn.
I’m excited to write this, the most basic book. In it, I’m talking about what I have learned (and, as a psychotherapist, taught to others for many years), which is that our earth is designed as a giant school. We all have ‘lessons;” we all come here in order to learn and grow. When people understand this system, things make more sense to them, transitions occur more easily, and they stop repeating the same “issues” over and over again! I’m explaining the system and telling my audience how it works, and how to work with the system! I’m writing every day.
My National Speakers Association friend, Rosita Perez, has a book, entitled Don’t Die With Your Music Still Inside You. I wonder whether Garcia and Guerrero had “music” in them we will now never hear. I’m intending to be one person whose “music” gets published!