You Never Know

I sat in an ICU waiting room yesterday with eight people. It's painful to say I have been in that place too many times before.

As I sat watching, listening, and sometimes contributing to the conversation here and there, I realized how connected we all are even though we don't realize it. The eight people sitting in that room were seemingly random, yet I believe there is really no randomness in life. I believe we serve a purpose in everything we do, sometimes the role is very small, and sometimes it's the leading role.

The group of eight sitting there would never have intentionally made a plan to get together, yet as I sat and observed, participated, and reflected on the grouping, the seemingly random became clear.

Our own experiences and lessons prepare us for giving and receiving. As I've said so many times, life cannot be one sided, you can't give until you are empty, or become the black hole of taking. Like music, there must be harmony for a result that doesn't make you hold your ears, and run screaming from the concert hall.

Sometimes you're in the hotseat, buried so deep in stress that you can't see light, and sometimes you are the purveyor of calm, peace, and love. And through it all, you never know what position you are going to be in at any given second, of any day of your life. The other part of this merry-go-round, the extra added thrill, is that anything and everything can turn on a dime.

Life is full of circles, and yesterday was the completion of a circle for at least two of us.

For me I realized how much trauma the point person endures in an ICU situation. I found myself wanting to wrap that person up in my arms and tell her it would all work out, but that wasn't my role yesterday. The lesson was for me to understand how very important it is to work through the post traumatic stress once the crisis is over. Personally I had locked all that away 10 years ago, and yesterday I was given the gift of releasing that pain through the process of simply observing. It will be the job of friends to make sure yesterday's woman makes it through without permanent scars.

For Linda it was the chance to be "on the other side", and although she has always appreciated all the love and support she received when she was in ICU, it became crystal clear just exactly what went into that process. She thanked me again, only this time it came from a full circle perspective.

Sometimes we are "not so innocent" bystanders. Sometimes you have absolutely no idea why you are present in a situation, but there is always a reason. The job, as a human on this planet, is to show up with goodness in your heart, honest intentions, an open mind, and the willingness to love unselfishly.

© copyright and all rights reserved Tiffany Truitt