Living at YES! Success Stories Archive

YES! stands for You Embracing Spirit!
In the LOGO, notice the symbol for the "Y" is a heart.
When you embrace Spirit - your heart is opened!

EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS A GIFT
By Cicily Waeger

This framed artwork hangs in my bedroom. It says "Each new day offers many gifts. Untie the ribbons." My near death experience in 1998 did indeed teach me that every day of my life is a gift. Most of us tend to take life for granted. Perhaps for some of us, it takes a tragic situation to appreciate the gifts offered to us each day. Now the first thing I say each morning, before I even get out of bed, is "Thank you, God, for another day of living, laughing, loving, and learning."

I spent 10 weeks in intensive care and another 10 weeks in Health South Rehab, then 3 months in outpatient rehab. During my 10 weeks in Rehab, I was fired from my job as a mental health counselor. Despite the outward appearance of being a really stinky situation, it turned out to be one of the BEST gifts God ever granted me. Not many folks get to "retire" at age 52. Now the part time self employment that I have allows me so much freedom. When I want to take a day off or go on vacation, I don't have to ask permission of any supervisor. I don't have to work up "billable hours" before I am allowed to go. Not having to be in an 9-5 work world releases me from the anger, frustration, gossip, and pettiness that goes on in so many establishments. Being able to release all of that type of negativity, frees me to be filled with inner peace and tranquility. No one dictates my days. I get to choose what I will do with each 24 hour gift. I feel very blessed. Having more tranquility, I am learning to live in the NOW moment, not dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. After all, NOW is really all any of us ever really have.

Gifts sometimes come in strange ways. What appears like a tragic situation can be great lessons for the people involved. Lessons are gifts. Twice I was so close to death that the doctors said I would not live till morning. So the nursing staff broke their rules and allowed all the family to visit me in ICU instead of only permitting 2 at a time. The presence of my children was a gift to my spirit, even though I was unconscious. Although they left, thinking that they had said their final goodbyes, my situation improved after they left.. Perhaps this lesson was for the nursing staff to teach them they did not always have to be so strict with their rules. And it was also a gift to the children who learned not to take their mom or each other or life itself for granted. Now when they end phone conversations, they say "I love you" to each other. As a mom, this is a heartwarming gift that the children still give me.

Being without any income for 2 whole years taught me that I could barter for professional services. I learned I could exchange my sewing skills for carpet cleaning and chiropractic work. I would never have known that before my illness.

Each of us has unpleasant circumstances in our life. And we each can choose how we respond to them. We can moan and groan and say "Isn't that awful?" or we can choose to see the gifts behind the experience. What are the lessons to be learned? How can we perceive goodness in each circumstance? Can we let go of anger, hate, hurt, retaliation and frustration? My advice is to say to yourself," I can choose peace instead of this." When you wake up tomorrow, be prepared to welcome the day and untie all the ribbons.

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